Grant Report 2016: Kachin Medic Teams in Burma

3/22/2016

Since 1998, Burma Humanitarian Mission has supported the ethnic minorities of Burma with Backpack medics. In the past few years, BHM’s support has grown to 14 teams – ranging from eastern through northern Burma.

In 2015, BHM provided over 1.1 million doses of medicine and supported a population of 32,000 people. With the Burma army’s violation of the ceasefire with the Kachin people in 2011, BHM increased its support with 4 new teams for the Kachin and Palaung people.

The following reports came straight from the field. The medics from 2 of those teams shared their stories and photos from 2015.

Backpack Medic Operations in Northern Burma: Spring 2016

In northern Burma’s Kachin and Shan States, the Burma army continues daily attacks, causing 100,000+ people to flee their homes and thousands more to be isolated from routine medical care.

BHM supports a Backpack team in Man Ton village.

Mai Sar Yoor, Team Leader
Lway Katae Nyime
Lway Nan Pyan
Lway Poe Khoung
Mai Naw Ta’ang

BHM also supports a second Kachin team in the Man Win Gyi village track.

Mr. Z
Htang Nu
Bawk Nu
Ji Grawgn
Seng San

Man Ton Team

The following are the highlights of the Man Tom team's activities.

Childbirth: A Challenge on Every Occasion

"Helping mothers bring their new babies into the world is one of the happiest things we do. And it’s risky. Because of the fighting, women have nowhere to get help. If they could get to one, the cost to spend one night in a hospital is almost one month’s money for most families. For some women, it’s their first child and for other women they’ve done it many times. But we work to ensure that they have the right care and nutrition. We have been very lucky to not have any mothers die in childbirth this past year. The same is not true for new babies.”
Lway Nan Pyan
Man Ton Township

Emergency Medical Care: Where and When Needed

“One day, we were told that a young mother was having difficulty. She was walking near her village and had gone into labor. Mai Sar Yoor, our team leader, Lway Nan Pyan, and I rushed to help her. We found Lway Oak near the side of a path by her village. She was in great pain and her baby had settled deep into the birth canal. The child was breech, making it very difficult for us to help her. One medic pushed on her stomach while another reached in and guided the baby as best she could. Unfortunately, the baby did not survive the delivery. I do not know if the woman would have survived if we had not been there. We were very sad for her, but glad she lived.”
Lway Katae Nyime
Man Ton Township
December 28, 2015

Emergency Medical Care: Children at Risk

“One morning, this mother came rushing in with her infant. The child had reached her hand into a boiling pot of water. She very seriously burned her hand. We gave the child antibiotics and applied a sauvé of GVB. We also gave her some pain medication. We visited her at home for the next week to check on her. It is very sad to see such a young child in so much pain. I was very happy to see her get better.”
Lway Katae Nyime

Malaria: Constantly Stalking the People

“In the rainy season, we see a lot of patients with malaria. In July, Tar Kyaw got malaria. He was very, very sick. For 5 days, we visited him at his house. We spent a lot of time there. Our RDT (Rapid Diagnostic Test) told us he had Malaria Pv, the serious type. We treated him with Artesunate and an IV to help. We also gave him something for pain. After 5 days, he got better. We had 25 patients last year with malaria but 1 died.”
Lway Nan Pyan
Man Ton Township
July 2015

Treating Injuries: Preventing Infections to Save Lives

“In October, Nor Rar was working in a field outside Man Aum village when he tripped on a land mine. He was brought to us. We cleaned his wounds, bandaged them and gave him antibiotics. We cared for him for one month. He is very lucky that he still has his leg.”
Mai Sar Yoor

“In La Shoi Township, a young boy Mai, was brought to the clinic by his mother. Mai had got into a fight with some other boys. Unfortunately, he had a very bad cut on his forehead. I treated him with antibiotics and bandages. He was also told to stop fighting. Where Mai lives, a simple cut can get infected and become very serious.”
Lway Poe Khoung

Impact of War: Trauma Care for All

“The Burma army flies helicopters over us sometimes. Mostly, the helicopters just circle looking for things. In December (2015), the helicopter fired twice. Shortly afterwards, two men came to us with injuries. One was shot in the foot. The other was shot in the leg. One man lost his leg and the other man lost his foot as a result. We could not prevent that. But, the men are alive today .”
Mia Sar Yoor
Senior Medic

Contemporary Medical Care: Improving Upon Centuries of Care

“This girl’s mother used traditional medicines to try and cure her baby’s cellulitis. Many poor people feel that traditional medicine is best. When it fails, they come see us. We did surgery and treated her with an antibiotic IV. She got better. It was very good to see her smile again.”
Lway Katae Nyime

"Lway Aii tried traditional medicines to cure her cellulitis She lives in Man Set village. There are no Burmese hospitals around her. When she finally came to us, she also had a secondary infection. We treated her with antibiotics. We had to do surgery to drain her wounds. We visited her at her house for 2 weeks. After 3 weeks, she was better.”
Lway Katae Nyime

Man Win Gyi (Kachin) Team

Internally Displaced Persons: Increased Health Risks

“The Burma army broke the ceasefire with the Kachin people in 2011. Thousands of people fled their homes. We work with people in villages and IDP (Internally Displaced Person) camps. Tu Jai, an 8-year-old boy, has been living in an IDP camp in Kachin State for the past 5 years. When I met Tu, he had been suffering from ARI (acute respiratory infection) for two weeks. His father brought him to where we set up our clinic. I treated him with amoxicillin and gave his father some health education on how to keep Tu healthy. We are the only medical care available to Tu and his family. If not treated, ARI can kill young children like him.”
Mr. Z
Senior Medic

A People Without Healthcare: Isolated Population's Increased Risks

“This man came to see us because he was very sick. In his village of Man Khan, they do not have any hospitals. So, he had to walk two hours to get to us. He had bloody diarrhea and dysentery. He had been sick for the past 2 days. We treated him with IV fluids for 1 day. He got better and walked home the next day.”
Bawk Nu

“This woman had been very sick with meningitis. She lives in the Man Win Gyi village track in Kachin State. We have a clinic there some days. Around her, the Burma army is very active and fighting occurs all the time. In fact, there was fighting there just last week. We treated her with antibiotics in the IV fluids and paracetamol for her fever. She got better.”
Ji Grawng
March 2016

Burma Humanitarian Mission and the Back Pack Health Worker Team thank Transparent Fish Fund and Chao Foundation for their generous support.