The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- In Burma, Risky Drugstore Sales a Regular Part of Life
- MSF Urges Burma to Allow It to Resume Work as Health Crisis Worsens
- The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (August 16, 2014)
| In Burma, Risky Drugstore Sales a Regular Part of Life Posted: 15 Aug 2014 06:00 PM PDT  A drugstore employee prepares medicine for a customer in Rangoon. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — When 26-year-old Aye Aye Khin came down with a cold earlier this year, she did not go to see a doctor. Instead, she decided to seek the help of a salesman at a nearby drugstore. As a receptionist at a hotel working eight-hour shifts every day, Aye Aye Khin did not have time to wait in the long line of patients at a clinic in her township. Nor was she able to spend the doctor fees, about 5,000 kyats (US$5), when she only makes a meager monthly income. For less than one-tenth that amount, she knew would be able to pay the salesman at the pharmacy to prepare some medication for her. Bypassing the doctor's office is a normal part of life for many people in cities of Burma. But this time, Aye Aye Khin was surprised by the terrifying reaction she had after taking the medicine she had been given. "A while after, my throat started to tighten up and I couldn't breathe properly. I was wheezing. My skin also began to itch and rashes appeared all over my body. I was so scared," she said, recounting the events from one year ago, and adding that she later learned that the medicine included penicillin, which she is allergic to. Allergic reactions are only one possible danger of buying prescription-only medication without a proper prescription. Dr. Yin Yin May, a primary care physician for more than 30 years, says she has seen patients experience gastrointestinal bleeding and other drug reactions after buying medicine at drugstores. "In emergency cases like that, I have to send the patients straight to the hospital," she said. According to Burma's National Drug Law of 1992, it is illegal to sell prescription-only medicines to someone without a doctor's prescription. Violators can be fined and imprisoned for up to one year. Still, whether due to the low prices or the easy accessibility of their medicines, drugstores continue to attract a large patronage. "You can spend less time and money going to buy medicine at a nearby shop. You have to make appointments and pay a lot more money to go see a doctor," said a schoolteacher who lives in Hledan Township. Prescription-only medication can be effective, but it needs to be taken at proper doses to avoid negative side effects. However, some salespeople at drugstores seem to be unaware of the dangers of using these medications without a doctor's prescription. "When a person comes asking me to prepare a medication for an illness, such as headache, fever or stomachache, my goal is to help get rid of the symptoms as fast as possible," said Myo Aung, a sales assistant at a small drugstore in Sanchaung, one of the most populated residential areas in Rangoon. "A lot of people come to my shop for help when they have some minor illnesses because I can prepare medications that relieve their pain fast," added Myo Aung, who has been working at the shop since he finished high school. He has not had any medical education, but he does not believe it is necessary for his job. Some people come to buy medicine with a doctor's prescription, and he takes note of what the doctors prescribe, so when a patient with a similar illness arrives without a prescription, he can try to replicate the correct medication. Regardless of socioeconomic status, many Burmese opt for this shortcut in treatment. "No matter what the educational level or financial status of the people, a lot of them are still relying on these shops preparing medications for them," said Dr. Yin Yin May. "The main problem, I think, is the public's weak health knowledge. People should know that every medicine has side effects to some degree. Just seeing an improvement within a day or two doesn't mean an illness has been cured completely," she said. To address this matter while promoting public health knowledge, the existing law should be reinforced, according to a director of the country's Department of Food and Drug Administration. "The proposal to systematically implement the rules and regulations of the Ministry of Health was submitted to Parliament last year. After the proposal is approved by Parliament, then we will handle this matter step by step," said the director. "We cannot take any drastic measures against this matter because we also have to consider the challenges facing the people involved," she added. It may take time to tackle the problem in a way that benefits both the buyers and sellers of these medicines. For now, it seems that many customers are here to stay. "I am feeling dizzy today so I've come to this drugstore to get some medicine. I have to go to work tomorrow so I want to get rid of the dizziness quickly. I think my accident last time was a coincidence. Most of the time, the medicine from this drugstore works for me. So I've come to this shop to get medicine again now," said Aye Aye Khin, smiling as she walked out of the drugstore and onto the crowded street. The post In Burma, Risky Drugstore Sales a Regular Part of Life appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| MSF Urges Burma to Allow It to Resume Work as Health Crisis Worsens Posted: 15 Aug 2014 05:30 PM PDT  A patient with drug-resistant TB is being examined by a MSF doctor at a clinic in Lashio, Shan State, earlier this year. (Photo: Eddy McCall / MSF) RANGOON — An international medical group has urged the Burmese government to follow through on a commitment to let it resume work in one of the poorest parts of the country, warning that healthcare there has seriously deteriorated since it was expelled. The government ordered the group Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) out of the western state of Arakan in February after the group said it had treated people it believed were victims of sectarian violence. The government denied that an attack had taken place and it has also accused MSF of being biased in favor of members of the minority Muslim community. The withdrawal of the agency, which had operated in the area for more than 20 years, left some half-a-million Rohingya Muslims without access to reliable medical care. "What has become clearer since the expulsion is that the situation has gotten more grievous by the day," said Reshma Adatia, operational adviser to MSF-Holland on Burma. The government announced on July 23 that MSF would be allowed to return to Arakan State. However, MSF says it has had no official word from the government since the announcement was made. Adatia said the decision to allow MSF to resume work "has not been translated into how and when we can return to the Rakhine [Arakan] State and conduct our medical activities." Arakan State has a long history of discrimination against the Muslim Rohingya community. Aid groups have drawn the ire of some Arakanese Buddhists who accuse them of favoring the Rohingya, a group that makes up the vast majority of victims of recent outbreaks of sectarian violence. Humanitarian groups reject accusations of bias towards Muslims and many workers say they have been threatened and intimidated. A spokesman for Arakan State, Win Myaing, denied any knowledge of a decision to let MSF resume work there. Than Tun, a Buddhist leader and a member of an Emergency Coordination Committee set up in March to monitor the work of international aid groups, said the decision was not supported by the people of Arakan State. Some aid workers say the announcement that MSF would be allowed to resume its work had more to do with politics than resolving the humanitarian crisis. The announcement came as Yanghee Lee, the new UN human rights envoy to Burma, visited the country, including the Arakan area. US Secretary of State John Kerry attended a regional conference in the capital, Naypyidaw, on Aug. 9-10. The Burmese government is in a tight spot. Concessions towards the Rohingyas could prove unpopular among the general public, but perceived ill-treatment risks angering Western countries that have eased sanctions in response to human rights reforms. On July 26, Zaw Htay, head of the president's office, posted a photo on his social media feeds showing a previous protest against MSF, and warned that people in Arakan State were organizing to strike against the regional government for inviting MSF to return. The post MSF Urges Burma to Allow It to Resume Work as Health Crisis Worsens appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (August 16, 2014) Posted: 15 Aug 2014 05:01 PM PDT Neighbors Thailand and Bangladesh Face Crises as Burma Bids to Grow Two of Burma's immediate neighbors, Thailand and Bangladesh, face potential crises which could seriously damage their economies, studies said. Bangladesh faces continuing political instability and labor rights problems which are "having a deleterious impact on the country's economy, including the vital garment export sector," said the business risk analysts Maplecroft. "Both of these hold important implications for investors in one of the world's most populous and least developed nations," the report said, noting that the ruling Awami League government has "few meaningful checks and balances on its power." Meanwhile, Thailand's business and agricultural heartlands are at growing risk from the effects of climate change, the British analysts said in a separate assessment. Many low-lying coastal areas including the capital Bangkok "are particularly vulnerable to climate change, with sea level rise posing threats to the densely populated coastal communities," said Maplecroft. "While facing an overall decrease in annual rainfall, Thailand is likely to experience shorter, more intense rainfall events due to climate change, increasing the severity of flooding in the future. "The impacts of climate change on Thailand include decreased fishery and agricultural yields, and more frequent flood events, and will ultimately adversely affect economic growth prospects." Although Burma has a long border with Thailand, the Maplecroft report gave no indication of possible climate change knock-on effects. An executive business jet service has begun operating in and out of Rangoon International Airport. The service has been established by Bangkok-based entrepreneur William Heinecke working with several Burmese firms. The basis of the Myanmar MJets Business Aviation Center is Heinecke's MJets operation in Thailand, which has teamed up with Burma's Wah Wah Group, founded by Ohn Myint, and Myanma Airways. Next to Rangoon's domestic passenger terminal, the center includes an executive lounge, business meeting facilities and separate customs and immigration clearance. "There is a growing market for flying in investors and company CEOs on private jet charters mainly from Singapore and Bangkok," Ohn Myint was quoted by travel industry paper TTR Weekly saying. About 300 private jet flights will visit Burma this year, the paper said. "About 10% of the traffic at the centre will be for air ambulances, mostly patients from Myanmar seeking medical treatment in neighbouring countries like Thailand and Singapore," Ohn Myint said. China's new oil pipeline running 900 kilometers through Burma from the coast at Kyaukphyu to the Chinese border is still not close to beginning operations, although its construction was supposed be almost completed months ago. The opening of the pipeline has been delayed for several reasons, a report by the Myanmar Times said, quoting an unnamed official from the Myanmar Oil & Gas Enterprise (MOGE). The US$1 billion pipeline, designed to pump crude oil from the Middle East, is being built by the state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). "It will take some time to start operation of the pipeline said a company official who requested anonymity due to the subject's sensitivity," the Myanmar Times reported. At full operation it has a capacity of 440,000 barrels of crude oil per day, transshipped from tankers at a specially built terminal at Kyaukphyu. Under the terms of the joint agreement between CNPC and MOGE Burma is mean to receive several million tons of oil per year. A gas pipeline built by CNPC running alongside the oil line is operating at less than 20 percent of its capacity. A number of foreign companies, including little-known firms, have signed final agreements on 15 onshore blocks with the Myanmar Oil & Gas Enterprise to explore for oil and gas in onshore areas across the country. They include Bashneft International from Russia, Sun Apex Holding, registered in the British Virgin Islands, and Petroleum Exploration, based in Singapore, the Myanmar Times said. Local firms named as partners in the contract awards include Apex Geo Services, Machinery and Solutions Company, Parami Energy Development and Precious Stone Mining. Contracts for blocks won by Eni of Italy and MPRL E&P, owned by Burmese entrepreneur Moe Myint, have already been signed. India's ONGC Videsh Limited, Brunei National Petroleum, Canada's Pacific Hunt Energy Corp and Petronas of Malaysia have also agreed terms with the government, said the Myanmar Times. Japan and Germany are cooperating in a business matching scheme to try to help small and medium sized firms starting up in Burma to find potential partners, a report said. A list of more than 100 Burmese firms is being distributed via Japan's Daiwa Institute and the German Embassy and the Ministry of Industry, said Eleven Media. The current project is only a pilot scheme however. Burma has thousands of small-to-medium firms which "face difficulties such as a lack of infrastructure, finance and technology," Eleven Media said, quoting the ministry. The post The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (August 16, 2014) appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
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