More than 19.000 People received medical help

The Swimming Doctors are examining people in Myanmar on their ship “Futura”

Ever since the military coup in February 2021, Myanmar has been facing chaos and violence. The military junta is clamping down on any protest, armed resistance and ethnic groups – the state of emergency has just been extended.

Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of NGOs have left the country, and those remaining are under strict monitoring. Although the Covid-19 pandemic is almost over, with only a few cases reported per day, the authorities have not lifted the corona restrictions on the Swimming Doctors’ ship Futura, yet.

Despite the challenging circumstances, the Swimming Doctors are striking a positive balance by 2022: All twelve planned missions in the delta of the Ayeyarwaddy were successfully completed. The Swimming Doctors remain a reliable constant for the people’s basic medical and dental care in the Pyapon area, also given that the region’s hospitals are hardly actionable. However, purchasing medicines is becoming more and more expensive and difficult for the Swimming Doctors.

In 2022, a total of 19,111 people were medically examined, advised and treated, among them around 3500 received dental care. This equals 1,600 patients per month or 80 patients per day for each of the 20 trips. About a fifth of the patients are children, and 70 percent of the adults are women. Children mainly suffer from respiratory- and lung infections, skin diseases such as scabies, purulent inflammation and acute gastrointestinal diseases.

The Burmese employees do everything in their power to keep the project running, because the delta is a restricted area for the German team. The Swimming Doctors are currently trying to find solutions on this.