Since 2013, Relief International has been supporting maternal, newborn and child health services in the Ayeyarwady Region through a 3MDG grant. Dedaye Township, where Dr Thandar Soe is based, was one of the most affected by Cyclone Nargis in 2008. All of its health facilities were destroyed.

1. What do you, and your organisation, do?

I am the Health Project Coordinator of Dedaye Township at Relief International in Ayeyarwady. We have a lot of maternal, newborn and child health projects, Relief International also works in six other townships across the country with 3MDG grants.

Before this, I was Community Health Officer. I was promoted to Health Project Co-ordinater in January 2017, so I have only been two months in this new role.In my new job, my daily routine has changed a lot. When I was a Community Officer, I went on a lot of field trips with other team members. Now, because I oversee program field activities and help to manage the office, I spend much more time in front of the computer!

2. What lead you to this role?

I have always wanted to work to help mothers and children; my wish is to see them healthy and living happily. In the beginning though, I wasn’t sure I wanted to be a medical doctor. But in Myanmar, sometimes we don’t to choose our profession and job opportunities can be limited.

When I started university for example, marine college was reserved only for men. At school we learnt a lot from books and there was less time for sports and arts.  It is a bit different now, the country has begun to change and that is reflected in our education system too.

For a while, I thought about becoming a pediatrician, but for lots of reasons it didn’t work out. Instead, I began to work in maternal health, approaching mothers and children’s health from another angle. It was here that I discovered public health, and after graduating, started to work in this field with an NGO. The importance of public health for our country is so clear, and since then I have followed that path.

3. What motivates you?

I am motivated when I see that people’s health awareness in different communities has improved, and when I see strong linkages formed between basic health staff, voluntary health workers and the village health committees. I am so proud of the success of our health system strengthening activities, especially the emergency referral programme. When I see the reduced maternal deaths within our project areas compared to previous years, I am motivated to work even harder.

4. What challenges do you face in your work?

Because we are not directly implementing the projects, and instead work with and through the  township health department and other partners, thus strengthening the township health system,  it can be difficult to coordinate people and help facilitate their work. Sometimes communication can be tricky. In the field, we also face similar challenges when trying to liaise between village health fund committee members.

Another big challenge is training and retaining volunteers. Because most of the villagers don’t have health education, we need to encourage the volunteers to hold engaging sessions – we try to do this through training, and explaining how important it is. We work with them to improve their patience and presentation skills.  

5. What is the best part of your job?

I think the most important things that we do are the health education and awareness raising sessions. These are critical to help change the behavior and attitude of the people. All the support we give to strengthen the health system will not be enough unless we try to improve health awareness and make sure people know when they should seek help, where they can receive care, and what they should expect when they do.