Violence escalated at the end of October in Kachin, Shan and Rakhine states, displacing an additional 660,000 people and exacerbating the already severe healthcare needs. People struggled to access care, as hospitals ceased to function following attacks or evacuations, and the warring parties imposed travel restrictions on people and humanitarian organisations.

In response, our teams in Kachin and Shan provided medical support and distributed relief items, such as hygiene and cooking kits, to displaced people. We also increased sexual and reproductive health services and support for victims of sexual violence in Kachin, Shan and Rakhine.

Until November, our mobile teams in Sittwe district, Rakhine, conducted outpatient consultations in remote areas where healthcare is scarce or non-existent, or inaccessible due to cost or restrictions on movement. We also identified patients in need of specialised care and supported them with the referral process. This process is particularly challenging for Rohingya people, as they are contained in fenced camps or villages and require permission from the authorities to move around.

When the escalation in conflict prevented our teams from running mobile clinics for the last two months of the year, patients relied heavily on our community health workers and teleconsultations for medical care.

Meanwhile, we extended our support to Aung San tuberculosis (TB) hospital in the capital, Yangon, where almost 50 per cent of the country’s patients with drug-resistant TB receive care.

During 2023, we continued the handover of our HIV patients to the Ministry of Health, switching our focus to supporting the national AIDS programme with staff and technical assistance.

In May, after Cyclone Mocha made landfall in Rakhine state, causing widespread damage to homes and infrastructure, we delivered medical care to the people affected. We also conducted water and sanitation activities, which included repairing latrines, distributing hygiene items and trucking in clean water.