The Access to Health Fund in 2023
Many in Myanmar are without access to the affordable care that they need. The Access to Health Fund’s role as a critical funder of health services is now more important than ever - and the Fund continues to make adjustments to its activities and approaches, in order to remain responsive to needs on the ground.
The Access to Health Fund is committed to supporting Myanmar’s health system, ensuring activities bridge critical health gaps, and safeguarding vulnerable populations' right to adequate health care, regardless of their ethnicity, religion, gender, age, financial situation or geographic location. The Fund supports inclusive, participatory processes, people-centred approaches, and local health programmes which respect and promote the rights, dignity and safety of Myanmar’s most vulnerable communities.
How the Fund is Continuing to Support Health Care in Myanmar
Remaining flexible in this context means continuing lifesaving and essential services; supporting our partners to pivot their services to meet immediate needs; support to gender-based violence services; working more with the private sector; expanding our emergency referral programme; and supporting emerging needs amongst vulnerable populations such as IDPs.
Activities continued under Access to Health grants include emergency referrals, support for essential and lifesaving service delivery activities, COVID-19 related activities, support to mobile clinics, support post-abortion-care related activities, service delivery activities, prison health activities, and activities related to tuberculosis testing and treatment.
Support to Gender-Based Violences Services and Skills: Local civil society partners now focus more on GBV cases and support through local networks. This will include awareness-raising, and prevention of GBV, as well as supporting GBV referral services. The community-level support will also cover emergency health referrals, which strengthen community-level health responses. They have also received training in the provision of GBV care via UNFPA.
Working with the Private Sector: With public hospitals having limited capacity ,private health care has become the only option in several areas. This, however, can be too expensive for much of Myanmar’s population, and can also be difficult to access for people living in remote locations. The Fund is exploring how to use the existing capacity to continue health services, such as supporting our partners via private or non-government facilities for emergency obstetrics, and other primary health care. The Fund is exploring strategic purchasing with private hospitals and facilities that are providing points of care, cost-sharing mechanisms in assessing emergency services to help the private sector improve its capacity to serve Myanmar’s poorest people.
Expanding Emergency Referrals: Emergency referrals are one of the key ways that the Access to Health Fund and its partners help people access the emergency care that they need. With limited health services available, the Fund has expanded its referral support to include all health needs, including gender-based violence and support for referral to private clinics and services where necessary.
Support for Internally Displaced People: It is estimated (Dec 2022) that there are close to one and half a million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Myanmar out of which more than one million are newly displaced.. IDPs face restriction of movement, difficult living conditions, and a lack of basic assistance, such as food, shelter, medicine, health care and other essential items. Some IDP camps have experienced disruptions in cash distribution, WASH services, food services, aid delivery, and mobile health activities.
The Access to Health Fund will expand the support we provide to health-related emergency needs, including WASH activities, shelter and nutrition for refugees, IDPs and host communities. Ensuring access to primary health care is a priority, and the Fund supports the procurement and distribution of essential medicines, provision of health services through mobile and fixed clinics, and support to other activities which enhance well-being - such as clean water and non-food items.
Expanding Geographic Focus to Match Changing Patterns of Vulnerability: With the health system operating at a limited capacity nationwide, patterns of vulnerability in the country are changing. The Fund continues to prioritize populations in conflict-affected areas in states, however, has supported activities outside these areas due to changes in patterns of vulnerability and displacement.
Support to the COVID19 Response: Implementing partners and civil society organizations continue many activities, including raising awareness about COVID-19, procuring and distributing supplies for infection control, supporting patient referrals, transporting samples, training health staff, and supporting quarantining facilities. The Fund provides operational support for implementing partners and some of our implementing partners have established wash basins and soap dispensers in remote villages to help with infection prevention and control.
Continuing the New Private-Sector Funded Project, which aims to improve health services provided by ethnic health organizations in Shan State. In 2021, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited’s Global CSR Program dedicated funds to Access to Health with the vision of reaching essential health services to marginalized and vulnerable populations in conflict-affected and hard-to-reach areas and for the health system improvement in Shan State. The project remains committed to sustainably improve the health and well-being of people in Shan by working on three pillars: infrastructure and equipment, people, and health systems strengthening.