When Myanmar\u2019s junta seized power in a 2021 coup, Elle* and a fellow doctor fled to the jungle to provide aid to the resistance movement, one of 45,000 healthcare workers to lend their support.<\/p>\n
Elle does not regret her decision, she supports the pro-democracy movement and later married the doctor with whom she escaped, but years of sacrifice have taken a toll. She treats patients from refugee camps at a clinic but does not earn enough to send money back to support her parents in their old age, which is her greatest wish.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did everything we could for our country,\u201d she says. \u201cBut for ourselves and our families, we feel like we are failing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Five years into the civil war, the military has recently gained ground, bolstered by tens of thousands of new conscripts<\/a> as well as weapons from China<\/a>. After years of being targeted by the junta, Myanmar\u2019s healthcare workers face a desperate situation, despite their enormous personal sacrifices, experts say the fragmented healthcare system is on the verge of collapse with increasing attacks on health infrastructure and a critical lack of essential medical supplies.<\/p>\n Attacks on health care sites increased significantly, driven by intensified airstrikes, with the World Health Organization (WHO) verifying 70 attacks, 148 deaths and 186 injuries in 2025.<\/p>\n Dr Andrew Green, chair of the British Medical Association\u2019s (BMA) medical ethics committee, told a webinar this month that \u201cthe violations of international humanitarian law, and the principle of medical neutrality have resulted in the reduction, or, indeed, the complete destruction of medical services in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n The overall effect, he said, was that Myanmar\u2019s healthcare system was now \u201con the very brink of collapse\u201d.<\/p>\n Attacks on healthcare sites increased significantly in 2025, leading to 148 deaths. Photograph: AFP\/Getty ImagesMilitary blockades have led to shortages of malaria tests, which have triggered a resurgence of the disease in some areas. Photograph: AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Military blockades have also compounded severe shortages of essential medical supplies across the country, including bandages, antiseptic, antibiotics, IV fluids and malaria tests as well as maternal and child health supplies.<\/p>\n The shortages have in some areas triggered a resurgence of malaria, and outbreaks of other preventable diseases due to the rise in unsafe drinking water, while routine health programs have been interrupted.<\/p>\n The ailing system presents a crucial barrier to the more than 16 million people who require life-saving assistance and protection services in the country, according to the WHO.<\/p>\n \u2018Clinics have been targeted from the air again and again\u2019<\/p>\n Following a series of humiliating defeats<\/a> in 2024, the military recaptured some ground this year. The gains amount to a small slice of overall territory but carry strategic value as they disrupted the resistance\u2019s supply lines and operations.<\/p>\n More than 100,000 people have now been killed since the conflict began in 2021, according to monitor ACLED (Armed Conflict Location & Event Data). In a six-month period around the elections, which ended in January and were widely condemned as a sham<\/a>, the military was responsible for at least 702 civilian deaths, according to the UN<\/a>.<\/p>\n The healthcare industry has not been immune from the violence. There have been at least 1,948 incidents of violence against, or obstruction of access to healthcare staff, with 932 health workers arrested and 175 killed since the start of the conflict, according to data from Insecurity Insight.<\/p>\n \u201cThese were not accidents of war,\u201d a doctor from Global Health Partnerships, originally from Myanmar who wished to remain anonymous, told the BMA webinar.<\/p>\n \u201cClinics in contested regions have been targeted from the air again and again, precisely because they kept communities alive and resistant to the military rule,\u201d the doctor said.<\/p>\n The junta has previously denied civilian deaths at healthcare sites, saying those killed or injured were not civilians, but terrorists and their supporters.<\/p>\n Even before the conflict, there was a shortage of healthcare professionals, with only one health worker per 1,000 in Myanmar. Now, many professionals have been forced to suspend clinical practice, flee to safer areas, or leave the country.<\/p>\n The junta has previously denied civilian deaths at healthcare sites, claiming they were attacking terrorists. Photograph: AFP\/Getty ImagesClinics in contested regions have been repeatedly targeted from the air. Photograph: supplied\/James Brockbank<\/p>\n As Elle reflects on her decisions \u2013 she once had a position at a prestigious hospital \u2013 there are mixed emotions.<\/p>\n Lacking phone reception, it was months before her husband learned his mother had died.<\/p>\n Elle gave birth to her first child at a clinic for refugees, making the dangerous journey by motorbike to a border area. Eight days later, authorities arrested her husband, and she went through postnatal depression.<\/p>\n Her husband was eventually released and together they now treat patients from refugee camps at a clinic, including many victims of the civil war.<\/p>\n Despite their training, the impacts of the conflict are sometimes hard to bear.<\/p>\n \u201cDoctors see death,\u201d she says, \u201cBut when I see dying [from this war], and especially children, injured or dying, it hurts.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNow that I\u2019m a mother,\u201d she adds. \u201cIt could be my son.\u201d<\/p>\n * Name has been changed<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Myanmar\u2019s junta seized power in a 2021 coup, Elle* and a fellow doctor fled to the jungle…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":822516,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[49,48,84,392],"class_list":["post-822515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-health","tag-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/822515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=822515"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/822515\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/822516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=822515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=822515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=822515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}