The rural and sub-rural health health centres are financed by 3MDG’s donors - Australia, Denmark, the European Union, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America - and designed and implemented by UNOPS.
UNOPS Infrastructure Manager, Mr Yoga Baral, signs the official paperwork to hand the centres over to the Ministry of Health and Sports.
The handover event was attended by Ministry officials, representatives from parliament, donors, and community leaders.
The construction of the 15 centres is part of a USD 12 million project to build 82 health facilities with onsite staff accommodation across the country. The project is under the leadership of the Ministry of Health and Sports, and contributes to the government drive towards universal health coverage. Universal health coverage ensures everyone can access the healthcare they need without the cost causing financial hardship. Myanmar has committed to reach this goal by 2030.
Dr Yin Thandar Lwin, Deputy Director General of the Department of Public Health, Ministry of Health and Sports, speaks at the handover event.
The centres increase access to services for some of the hardest-to-reach people in the country. To find the best locations for the centres, factors including population coverage, availability of staff and supplies, accessibility, local needs and lack of existing services were considered.
The centres will serve all community health needs, with a particular focus on maternal, newborn and child health. They will aid in reducing the dangers of childbirth; the number of deaths among women and babies in delivery is currently higher in rural areas than in urban settings.
Ambassador of Denmark, H.E Peter Lysholt Hansen, speaks at the handover of the 15 centres.
The Danish Ambassador, H.E Peter Lysholt Hansen, who attended today’s handover event, said:
“People in rural areas have poorer health than those in the cities, reflected by shorter life expectancies. The centres, built across the country in some of the hardest-to-reach areas, will help alleviate difficulties faced due to long, difficult or expensive travel to distant centres.”
In 2016, 17 centres were handed over to the Ministry of Health and Sports, and they are now fully operational. Midwife Daw Rosy Tin, who works in a new centre in Magway, has delivered six healthy babies since the centre opened in February.
“Before, I had to look after pregnant women in their own houses which can be unclean and cause infections. Now it’s better, and I am available for them 24 hours a day, as I live here as well,” she says.
In the coming months the remaining 17 centres - located in Sagaing, Shan South (9), Shan East (4), Shan North (4) Kayah State (6), Chin State (5), Yangon Region (3), and Mandalay Region (2) - will all be completed and handed over by May 2017.
The delivery room inside the centre.
The centres include areas for childbirth, emergency and waiting rooms, examination rooms, water tanks, incinerator and placenta pit, onsite accommodation for staff, and drug storage facilities. In addition, many sites have environmentally sustainable solar panels, making sure that in emergency situations power is available. Depending on their size, the centres can treat up to 50 patients a day.
The local midwife stands at her health centre.
As Myanmar lies in a region prone to earthquakes and floods, specific construction techniques and raised flooring have been used to make the new centres more resilient in the face of disasters.