Myanmar: Project for Schoolchildren

Building on the successful projects realized by the GPHF in cooperation with the World Health Organisation on Pemba Island, the Seychelles and in Laos, both partners implement a project in Myanmar focusing on a therapy of parasitic worm infections (Ascaris lumbricoides) in 2001 and 2002. The target group in this Southeast Asian country was made up of 100,000 children who could be directly reached via 350 schools. Apart from medicinal treatment of these infections which cause massive damage to internal organs, the focus was both on the training of teachers and voluntary medical workers and on the children’s health education.

Myanmar, the former Burma, obtained independence in 1948. Today, the country has 4.5 million inhabitants whose main source of income is agriculture. Low growth rates, high inflation and governmental dirigisme all hamper the economic development of this former British colony. Even today, the per capita GDP is less than 300 US dollars. Despite the international criticism of the continuous violations of human rights committed by the military regime, the GPHF and the WHO decided to realize this project, since they do not want children to become hostages of wrong policies.