A reproductive health needs assessment in Myanmar

A Reproductive Health Needs Assessment in Myanmar
importance in Myanmar were infertility, reproductive cancers and violence against women.
The discussions and presentations at this workshop provided input to the preparation of
guidelines and the fieldwork.
Development of guidelines for field observations
In view of the terms of reference, and feedback from the workshop, the team members
developed guidelines for interviews and group discussions with men, women and young
persons, community leaders, NGOs, and service providers at various levels and for
observation of service provision.
Site selection
The fieldwork was conducted in six townships in three States/Divisions. These were selected
to include a range of the more predominant socio-economic and cultural environments that
exist in Myanmar. The assessment team does not suggest that these townships are
representative of Myanmar on a national level, but by identifying the similarities and
differences between the selected sites, a sense of the current reproductive health needs in
Myanmar can be achieved. The six townships visited were: Mawlamyine and Thaton (Mon
State) Myittha and Myingyan (Mandalay Division); Taunggyi and Tachileik (Shan State).
Figure 1 identifies these sites.
Field assessment
The assessment team was split into two sub-teams for the field assessment. In selecting each
of the sub-teams, careful attention was paid to ensuring the representativeness of a range of
perspectives and expertise. Each sub-team visited one township in each of the
States/Divisions.
Within each township, a number of urban and rural service provision facilities were visited.
These generally included the township hospital, the MCH centre, and a number of rural
health centres and sub-centres. Interviews, focus group discussions and observations were
conducted at each of these sites. Interviews and focus group discussions were conducted
with a range of service providers and community members. Public sector service providers
interviewed included township medical staff, lady health visitors, midwives and voluntary
health staff. Interviews were also conducted with private general practitioners and drug shop
vendors. Community interviews and focus group discussions covered as broad a crosssection
of society as possible. Women and men were interviewed across a range of different
ages, of different marital status, and with different reproductive experiences. In order to elicit
a broader community perspective, interviews were conducted with community leaders, and
leaders and members of a number of grass-roots organizations such as the MCWA, the
MMA, the MRCS and the USDA.
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