Myanmar : Healthcare Workers Targeted by the Government as COVID-19 cases surges
- Camille
- Aug 25, 2021
- 3 min read
Since the military coup in February 2021, the Burmese people have lost all democratic freedom and have suffered multiple human rights violations under the hands of their new government. Students and activists have taken to the streets to show their opposition, only to be mercilessly attacked. While chaos rages on between the military and armed-civilian militias, the Burmese healthcare system is experiencing a near total collapse as workers are being branded as criminals.
Targeted For Treating Protesters
Burmese healthcare professionals were early fierce opponents to the new regime. Doctors and nurses were seen as a threat to the military coup because they held highly respected jobs as well as a well-organized network of unions and professional groups. As demonstrators took to the streets, doctors and nurses would set up mini clinics to treat those who were injured during the protests.
“We believe that treating patients, doing our humanitarian job, is a moral job….I didn’t think that it would be accused as a crime.” says a Yangon doctor who have been on the run from the government for months
As of July 7th, the military had set up 580 wanted posters of healthcare workers, charging them with civil disobedience and dubbing them as enemies of the state. Recently, there have been a surge in arrest warrants for nurses
The War on Healthcare
Arrests aren't the only method used by the military to keep medics from their jobs, 204 attacks on healthcare workers have been reported during the first half of 2021 with the workers being brutally assaulted by military personnels. Myanmar is now one of the most dangerous places to be a healthcare professional, at least 157 medics have been arrested, 37 wounded and 25 killed. But since the crackdown on information in Myanmar, the real number could be much higher.
At least 85 hospitals have been raided and 55 have been occupied by security forces as of July 7th. Moreover, the workers of the occupied hospitals were fiercely beaten as officers stole their supplies according to Insecurity Insight, Physicians for Human Rights and the Johns Hopkins Center for Public Health and Human Rights.
The Pandemic and the Protest
Ever since the military started to target healthcare workers, many now live in hiding while working in underground and home-made clinics. Nearly all COVID-19 testing and treatment had ceased since July. It is unclear how the government plans on vaccinating its population when many of its medics are declared as enemies of the state.
There also have been reports of the Tatmadaw, the Burmese military, obstructing pandemic supplies to care for COVID-19 patients across the country. Soldiers have been seen seizing oxygen cylinders and blocking civilians from refilling them as well as numerous raids and looting of community-run clinics.
As the healthcare system slowly collapses in Myanmar, the real pandemic numbers are still unknown and citizens are being left to their own devices to fight against the virus. Around 80 000 Burmeses are expected to die in August alone.
Moreover, the new regime is weaponizing COVID-19 for its own political gain by terrorizing the democracy movement. On July 16th, many community clinics were raided and workers arrested as security forces posed as COVID-19 patients.
The attacks on healthcare workers are a direct violation of the Geneva Convention which states that there should be “no obstacles to humanitarian activities” and that the sick and wounded should be “respected and protected in all circumstances”. Furthermore, Article 19 of the convention states that all medical facilities “may in no circumstances be attacked”. The UN must order an immediate investigation into the attacks of healthcare workers in Myanmar and the Security Council must deploy a UN peacekeeping force to ensure the delivery of medical aid to Burmese citizens.
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