Private sector to improve Myanmar's health outcomes
10-Oct-16, Devex
Myanmar has undergone sweeping economic and political reforms since it transitioned to a civilian government in 2011, and then opened up to foreign investment two years later. But the healthcare system is still reeling from over 50 years of neglect.
Image: Aye Zaw Myo / World Bank / CC BY-NC-ND
But the opening of the country’s economy has created new opportunities for both the public and private health sectors to provide better services to the population as it moves toward the goal of universal health coverage - one of the key targets of the Sustainable Development Goals.
As state spending on health continues to increase - the 2015-16 fiscal year alone it increased by 7 percent - demand for private and specialist services are also expected to increase as the middle-class grows. With this comes an opportunity for the private sector to work with the public sector, NGOs and the government to improve the situation across the country.