Myanmar’s Weaponization of COVID-19 7. Same Centralized Health System, Same Aid Structures, New Virus “ Since it came to power in 2016, the NLD-led government has made little progress in reforming the country’s highly centralized and failing healthcare infrastructure Since it came to power in 2016, the NLD- medical services, to government clinics built led government has made little progress in and abandoned without staff, medicine, or reforming the country’s highly centralized equipment.120 and failing healthcare infrastructure, to which This health system is now entrusted with it consistently dedicates less than 5 percent mitigating a pandemic and equitably providing of its annual budget. According to the last medical services to populations it has never WHO assessment of world health systems,117 effectively served. Conspicuously excluded Myanmar was ranked 190 out of 191 countries from healthcare reform, national coronavirus for its overall performance and was described response, and international aid to fight the as having some of the “least fair financing” in pandemic are ethnic health organizations the world.118 With the exception of selected (EHOs) and community-based humanitarian urban areas, the country largely fails to meet response organizations. For decades, these the WHO minimum of 1 doctor for every institutions have provided basic healthcare for 1,000 people.119 In rural areas of ethnic states nearly 1 million of the country’s most vulnerable in particular, local people have long described populations in conflict areas and territory a range of troubling health scenarios rooted in outside of government administration. neglect, ranging from a complete lack of state ‘Well-Equipped’ or ‘Ignoring Needs’? Spokespersons for both the MoHS and an ethnic health network in Karenni State were interviewed by local media in April about the performance of Myanmar’s healthcare system in the wake of COVID-19. 117 The WHO no longer produces these world rankings “because of the complexity of the task.” 118 World Health Organization. “WHO World Health Report 2000 – Health Systems: Improving Performance.” June 2000. Available at: https://www.who.int/whr/2000/en/ 119 Yu Mon Saw, Thet Mon Than, et al. “Myanmar’s human resources for health: current situation and its challenges.” Heliyon Vol. 5,3 e01390. 27 March 2019. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6441837/ 120 Kantarawaddy Times. “Centralization a Major Cause of Burma’s Healthcare Woes, Ethnic Health Providers Say.” 15 April 2020. Burma News International. Available at: https://www.bnionline.net/en/news/centralization-major-cause-burmas-healthcare-woes-ethnic-health-providers-say 41