The president of the Myanmar Emergency Medicine Society told the 2021 Global Emergency Care Conference of the complex challenges being faced by Myanmar’s health system and practitioners.

Attendees at the Global Emergency Care Conference were told of the brutality faced by Myanmar’s healthworkers and the collapse of the health system.

President of the Myanmar Emergency Medicine Society Rector Zaw Wai Soe told attendees that he was honoured to be able to speak on behalf of his colleagues and that they are grateful for the continuing support of the global emergency care community.

‘Myanmar’s emergency medicine care providers are struggling to provide emergency healthcare to the people of Myanmar, amid the global pandemic of [the] COVID-19 crisis and the risk of being arbitrarily detained, tortured, or even killed, by the military junta since their February coup.’

He says many healthcare providers, including himself, have gone into hiding and that Professor Maw Maw Oo, who has been detained since April, is now suffering from COVID-19.

Rector Zaw Wai Soe implored the emergency medicine community to continue to contact him and his colleagues.

‘Please let us speak to the world what is happening in Myanmar.’

Full video and transcript below.