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14 News THE MYANMAR TIMES SEPTEMBER 2 - 8, 2013
Free mobile clinics help contain TB
SI THU LWIN
sithulwin.mmtimes@gmail.com
EACH time Mandalay’s free mobile
medical clinic offers its tuberculosis
screening service to residents, five to
10 patients are diagnosed with the
disease.
The good news, say doctors who
run the clinic, is that diagnosis
means doctors can help treat and
prevent the spread of the disease.
Tuberculosis specialists in upper
Myanmar and doctors from
the Department of Health in Aung
Myay Tharsan township, Mandalay
Region, have conducted five free
medical screenings for tuberculosis
in various wards around Mandalay
since January, most recently on
August 19.
“The reason is to give medical
service for those who can’t afford
medical treatment in hospitals and
clinics,” Dr Kyi Shwe told The Myanmar
Times.
Under the state-sponsored program,
health officials have provided
‘It's doubtful that
it’s tuberculosis but
I can’t afford to go
to the clinic so I am
grateful for this free
medical service.’
Daw Htar
Shwe Laung Gyi ward resident
A doctor with a state-supported mobile medical team examines a patient in
Mandalay on August 19. Photo: Si Thu Lwin
free medical care in mobile clinics
in the Naung Kwal, Daw Na Bwar,
Oh-bo, Min Tae and Shwe Laun
Gyi wards. Residents from nearby
wards can also visit these mobile
clinics, Dr Kyi Shwe said.
The township’s health department
also helps patients with extension
medical treatment.
“Without treatment, an infected
person can pass on the disease
to 10 to 15 people in a single
year so we are giving free medical
check-ups … with a fixed X-ray
machine to reduce the infection
rate,” Dr Kyi Shwe added.
He said the mobile clinic sees
an average of 120 to 150 patients
during each session. Doctors
also screen for other respiratory
diseases.
Daw Htar, a mother from the
Shwe Laung Gyi ward, said her
child’s coughing has concerned her
for a long time.
“It is doubtful that it is tuberculosis,”
she said on August 19. “But
I can’t afford to go to the clinic so
I am grateful for this free medical
service.” – Translated by Zar Zar Soe
Corruption
driving use of
child soldiers
nantin.htwe@gmail.com
NAN TIN
HTWE
CHILD soldier recruitment in Myanmar
persists because of corruption,
weak oversight and impunity, an international
organisation said last week.
“An absence of effective national
monitoring mechanisms, coupled with
significant legal and practical obstacles
to hold military personnel criminally
accountable for underage recruitment
are other factors which contribute to
this practice”, Richard Clarke, director
of Child Soldiers International told The
Myanmar Times by email.
In a press release issued on August
27, the group urged the government to
act on the recommendations of the UN
Security Council Working Group to end
underage recruitment.
“The UNSCWG expressed deep concerns
about the continued recruitment
and use of child soldiers in violation of
international law by all parties to the
armed conflicts, as well as the continued
abductions of children,” the statement
said.
It added that the Tatmadaw and
government-controlled Border Guard
Forces – as well as non-state groups –
continue to recruit children, despite
the Ministry of Defence agreeing to end
the practice last June.
The Security Council group also
urged the Tatmadaw to end the use of
incentives and civilian brokers and also
to investigate and prosecute military
officers and civilians for child abuse.
Calling for UN access to areas
where child soldiers might be present,
the group says the child soldier issue
should be included in ceasefire and
peace agreements, perhaps with the
involvement of the Myanmar Peace
Center.
“Child soldiers’ issues need to be
fully incorporated throughout peace
agreements being negotiated with nonstate
armed groups and in the mechanisms
aimed at monitoring their implementation
so that the recruitment and
use of children is considered a violation
of the ceasefire agreement,” Mr Clark
said.
However, the peace centre’s U Hla
Maung Swe said that issues like child
soldiers can be discussed only when
government and non-state armed
groups begin political dialogue. “I
think it’s impossible to discuss it during
ceasefire agreements or the trustbuilding
process.”