Hygiene and Sanitation in Myanmar

Myanmar, located in South East Asia, has an issue with sanitation and hygiene which can cause diseases and illnesses. One of the main disease is diarrhea which is one of the leading cause of child mortality in Myanmar. Around 77% of diseases inside of Myanmar are waterborne which is caused by lack of sanitary practices. Food poisoning can also be the cause of the lack of sanitary practices, where restaurant workers might not follow sanitation practices such as washing their hands.
Most Of The Common Diseases in Burma Are Waterborne
According to the Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRCS), over 77% of diseases located in Myanmar are caused by the country's water source. "Diseases reportedly spread because of uncovered water tanks, the use of muddy lakes, lack of sanitation, defecating in fields, damaged and leaking septic tanks, lack of personal hygiene and little knowledge of water and environmental sanitation." Women and children are also more likely to obtain a waterborne disease. Gastrointestinal disease are also one of the main reason for children to become absent in schools
Three out of five of the most common disease in Myanmar are caused by food or water contaminated by fecal matter. Hepatitis A and E, Typhoid fever, and Cholera are all caused by food or water contaminated by fecal matter or sewage in areas with poor sanitation.
- Hepatitis A and E spreads by food or water contamination, and has increased from the 1990-2013 since their has been a lack of information and the lack of spreading awareness of the disease.
- Typhoid fever spreads also by food or water contamination, but can also spread more quickly by floods in the area.
- Cholera can spread by poor sanitation and lack of clean drinking water
National Sanitation Week
National Sanitation Week (NSW) began around the year 1998 in Myanmar where people from government officials to those in small villages were motivated to build a sanitary latrine ( a toilet facility) for themselves. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) helped the Department of Health Planning (DHP) to create and spread information, education and communication (IEC) into the community in Myanmar. Workshops, television, radio, newspaper were some of the ways that were used to promote sanitation and hygiene to the people. With the introduction of NSW, there has been an increase of latrine facilities from 45% of the population having latrine stations in 1997 to 63% of the population having latrine facilities a year after NSW was introduced. Hand washing after defecation has not been improve much from 1996 to 2001 where only around 46% of the population only washed their hands after defecation. On the other hand, the use of soap while hand washing has increased by 18% in 1996 to 43% in 2001. Newspaper was the best way to spread IEC on sanitation and hygiene into the public, while television was the second best way and radio being the worse. 63% of those that had gained information or knowledge about sanitation and hygiene was from newspaper, while 35% came from television and 9% was from radio. Those that had information were more likely to have a latrine station and also wash their hands after defecation. 69% that had information had a latrine station while 75% washed their hands after defecation. Some of the causes found on why some of the population lack a proper latrine station or do not have any information about hygienic practices can be because; the head of the family is illiterate so they are unable to obtain IEC on sanitation, or the household may not be able to afford to build a proper latrine station because of low income.
One of the main causes of child mortality in Myanmar is by diarrhea, where over 30,000 children deaths has been caused by diarrhea in Myanmar. The cause of this is by not having proper sanitation and clean drinking water. A program created from UNICEF called the National Sanitation program, which follows the Convention on the Rights of a Child (article 24) where countries are urged to fight diseases and malnutrition and "among other things, provision of clean drinking water and sanitation services". What the National Sanitation program aim to do is to provide a do-it-yourself approach for households to build their own proper latrine and to spread information on sanitation and proper hygiene. The latrine were design to be as low cost efficient as possible, where people were able to build one with the resource they already have. This program was successful in it's approach to spread information on sanitation which caused the World Health Organization to launch a National Sanitation Week in May 1998. The focus of the National Sanitation Week was to inspire more households to build their own latrine station. The government also were involved in National Sanitation Week, where they urged governmental, and non-governmental organization to build their own latrine station. Other than having a proper latrine, hygienic practices such as washing hands after defecation and having a safe supply of drinking water was also promoted.
Their are three concerns when it comes to the future and to help improve sanitary and hygienic practices which has been made with the introduction of NSW:
* "Motivating households unable to build any latrine by helping to overcome constraints they are faced with."
* "Encouraging those households that currently own unsanitary latrines by emphasizing the need to upgrade them to sanitary conditions."
* "Giving added attention to motivating people to wash hands with soap and water after toileting and at other critical times."
What Else Is Being Done
In the city of Yangon, there are plans to upgrade the city's sewage treatment system with the help of foreign aid that started around 2003 to replace the older system that was built in 1888. A sewage treatment system can improve the disease caused by waterborne disease by reducing contamination in household sewage and other areas. Germany and Japan had sent money and assistance to the city of Yangon to help develop the city's sewage treatment system in 2015. Japan played a major role in helping to improve Yangon's Sewage treatment system where they have donated more newer technologies and facilities. The first facility was installed at a high school in Yangon and began spreading to other public goods and services. Yangon is the only city with a new sewage treatment facility while there are plans for increasing the facilities in other cities. There have been plans on which city to build the sewage treatment system in but it mainly depends on funds and the Myanmar government instructions.
Reference
1.^-Bajracharya, D. "Myanmar Experiences in Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion: Lessons Learned and Future Directions." International Journal of Environmental Health Research 13 (June 2003): 1-13. Accessed October 9, 2018. doi:10.1080/0960312031000102903.
2.^“Health Status: The Most Common Diseases in Burma.” The Borgen Project, 19 Sept. 2017, borgenproject.org/common-diseases-in-burma/.
3.^“Myanmar (Burma): 77% of Diseases Waterborne: Red Cross.” Pro Quest, Thai News Service Group , 10 Apr. 2017, search-proquest-com.csulb.idm.oclc.org/docview/1885034762?accountid=10351.
4^“Myanmar (Burma): Yangon Upgrades Wastewater Treatment Systems.” Pro Quest, Thai News Service Group, 23 Aug. 2016, search-proquest-com.csulb.idm.oclc.org/docview/1821862524?accountid=10351.
5.^“MYANMAR PLANS NEW SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT.” Water & Wastewater International, www.waterworld.com/articles/wwi/print/volume-18/issue-2/regulars/worldwide-news/myanmar-plans-new-sewage-treatment-plant.html.
6.^“The National Sanitation Week in Myanmar : from Policy to Actions.” IRC, UNICEF, 1 July 1998, www.ircwash.org/resources/national-sanitation-week-myanmar-policy-actions.
7.^-UNICEF-Yangon, MM. "The National Sanitation Week in Myanmar." July 1, 1998, 1-16. Accessed October 9, 2018. https://www.ircwash.org/resources/national-sanitation-week-myanmar-policy-actions .
8.^-Weaver, Emma R.N. "Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Facilities and Hygiene Practices Associated with Diarrhea and Vomiting in Monastic Schools, Myanmar." The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 95, no. 2 (August 3, 2016): 278-287. doi:10.4269/ajtmh.15-0290.

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