27-Oct-15 MMK757 bn (USD592 mn) has been allocated for health spending in Myanmar this fiscal year, a 7% increase. The funds will be earmarked for the purchase of advanced medical equipment, and free medical treatment for government employees. The government has also committed to training 5,600 clinicians and 1,300 nurses to help to bridge the shortage of medical professionals. [image: Myanmar Business Today]

10-Oct-15 Myanmar is trying to kick its foreign drug habit: In recent years the government has offered incentives to seven private distributors to try their hand at manufacturing domestically. All other pharmaceutical products – between 80 percent and 90 percent – are imported. [image: Ann Wang / Frontier Myanmar]

22-Sep-15 Koe Koe Tech, a healthcare systems provider in Myanmar, created the country's first mHealth app. In a nation of 4 doctors per 10,000 citizens, mobile can overcome state capacity issues by providing healthcare information, advice and feedback in rural and urban areas. “Healthcare is broken in Myanmar and we are going to fix it." explains co-founder Michael Lwin. [image: Michael Lwin]

15-Sep-15 Five ASEAN private hospital associations have endorsed the “Yangon Declaration” in a bid to enhance cooperation and jointly develop medical service standards in the region. The associations from Thailand, Myanmar, the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam reached an agreement to deepen cooperation during the Hospital Management Asia (HMA) 2015 held in Yangon. [image: Myanmar Business Times / TPHA]

17-Jun-15 First Myanmar Investments Co Ltd (FMI) and Indonesian conglomerate Lippo Group have launched a healthcare JV in Myanmar with a USD420 million roll-out. The JV is planning up to 20 hospitals in its national network over 10 years, focusing first on setting up 12 hospitals within the next three to five years. [image: Pun Hlaing Siloam Hospitals]