Myanmar 9-1-1: Train & Equip Emergency Medic Teams

Since January of this of this year, the Medic Teams in Eastern Myanmar have dealt with 15 serious injuries in the communities that they serve, including two landmine injuries and three gunshot wounds.

The improved security situation has meant that the medics have been able to develop informal relationships with some township hospitals in Eastern Myanmar to be able to refer patients once they are stabilized. Previously, all patients in need of care were carried across the border into Thailand.

A resurgence of skirmishes between various armed groups in Eastern Myanmar over the last few months has created a more unstable security situation. While medics, and the population at large, still enjoy much greater freedom of movement than during the height of armed conflict, the peace remains fragile and uncertain.

Medic teams have been hampered by a lack of supplies due to funding constraints. In many cases, they have had to source supplies from clinics in their areas, However, the clinic supplies, particularly for pain management, are not optimal for the types of injuries that the medics are typically dealing with.

Preparations are being made for the next Advanced Trauma Training which will take place in January 2015. Medics returning from the field will bring new data which will further illustrate the changing situation in Eastern Myanmar.

Your support remains crucial. Please consider making a donation to support the Mobile Medics in Eastern Myanmar!

The 20 emergency medic teams supported by this project have been continuing their work, delivering emergency care to the 65,000 villagers dispersed in remote locations across Eastern Myanmar.

A recent tragedy underlines the need for mobile emergency care services in this region.

On the 25^th May, a group of Karen villagers were travelling in Karen State, Eastern Myanmar, about two kilometers from the border with Thailand. At approximately one o'clock in the afternoon, a member of the group stepped on a landmine. The blast killed a six year old girl. Three other members, including a young boy of twelve, sustained serious chest injuries, One of these, a young man in his late twenties, also lost both of his hands. One further victim lost his left eye, and a sixth member of the group sustained minor injuries.

The injured were rapidly transported across the border and admitted to hospital in Thailand and no further lives were lost.

This is the grim reality facing the hundreds of thousands of villagers, many of them displaced, who live in these disputed regions where, until very recently, civil war raged. Recent ceasefires and an ongoing peace process between the government of Myanmar and ethnic armed groups are undoubtedly positive developments and mean that people can now move more freely in Eastern Myanmar. However, this greater freedom of movement also exposes people to an increased danger from the landmines that litter this conflict-ravaged region.

Community Partners Interational (CPI) and our partners remain committed to ensuring that mobile emergency medic teams can continue deliver lifesaving services to people in this region.

Thank you very much for your support to date. Please consider making a donation to help these medics to continue their lifesaving work.