Prospects and Challenges in Medical Checkup in Myanmar

Abstract

 The Social Medical Corporation SANSHIKAI established the Yangon Japan Medical Centre in Myanmar in 2019. This medical clinic provides Japanese-style medical checkup and outpatient services using Japanese medical devices and barcode systems, while taking measures against power outages. It is a one-stop clinic with in-house pharmacy and laboratories, and the patients can start treatment from the checkup day.

 In Myanmar, where political instability has continued after the COVID-19 pandemic and the coup, the medical system is becoming vulnerable year by year, posing challenges to the provision of Japanese-style medical checkup services in the country.

 First is the electricity shortage and blackout. The generator runs 24 hours throughout the year due to electricity shortage. Second is the procurement of medical materials. The depreciation of the country's local currency and foreign exchange reserves seriously impact import materials, such as medicines and test reagents, in Myanmar. Third is the outflow of human resources, which is caused by political instability in the country. Other challenges include administration procedures and infection control.

 Conversely, Japanese-style medical checkup plays pivotal roles in developing countries, such as early detection and early intervention as well as contribution to healthy life expectancy, and human resource development. Particularly for tuberculosis (TB), it contributes to infection control not only in Myanmar but also in Japan. The number of technical trainees in Japan is dramatically increasing. In most of the countries that dispatch young people to Japan, latent TB infection remains prevalent.

 TB screening has not yet officially started in Myanmar. However, in light of the prevalence of latent TB bacteria among young people planning to work as elderly caregivers in Japan, early TB screening in Myanmar is crucial. This measure is beneficial not only for Myanmar but also for Japan.