Myanmar

Myanmar

Myanmar is one of the most beautiful Asian countries. It is full of unique culture and traditions and the natives come across exceptionally friendly and sincere, yet a significant part of the population is suffering from poverty and famine. If that wouldn’t be enough, people are constantly threatened by monsoons and natural disasters. The most common diseases are dengue and diarrhoeal diseases, which are transmitted by polluted drinking water or mosquitoes. The just stated infectious illnesses affect the children in particular, unsurprisingly Myanmar holds the highest infant mortality rate of all Southeast Asia. In 2014, 45 out of every 1000 children died, UNICEF states, and every third child below the age of 5 suffers from malnutrition. This, in turn, often causes lifelong disabilities because of incorrect development. Cleft lip and palate, as described above, is a congenital malformation, which not only causes difficulties providing nourishment, but is also responsible for social rejection and marginalisation. The reason for this kind of disability is said to be a combination of genetical and external influences. Mothers, who have already born a child with a cleft lip, are able to get help at Sitagu Ayudana Hospital (Sagaing Hills), so that the chances of another deficiency while being pregnant is kept as low as possible. Most times, one single surgery is sufficient to help a child, who’s been diagnosed with a cleft lip. If a second surgery is necessary, it will be performed one year after the first one, of course the parents are being included in all the scheduling. The treatment should start as early as possible, so that there are no dangers of delayed speaking and hearing development, or even chronic infection of the mouth, nose an throat; said children are prone to this kind of infection.

A further very important mission of the MIT is to help children, who suffer from injuries like severe burns, which are very common among the poor society of Myanmar. Open fireplaces, for example, are a threat to young children. The usual consequence is scarring, leading to limited mobility of body parts, deformity of joints and overall restriction in the quality of life. By performing skin transplant, the doctors are able to ease the scarring and extend the flexibility of joints again.

Your support allows us to help as many children as possible, we sincerely thank you for making this project happen. Go to ‘Donate’ to get information about our donation account.