Myanmar

HKI has been working in Myanmar since 2000 and current programs are focused on eye health initiatives that address cataract which are funded by the energy company Total E&P and its partners.

HKI works closely with the medical community in the country, including the Myanmar Ministry of Health. HKI provides services and equipment and ensures that the equipment is used appropriately and kept in working order. Periodic site visits and monitoring and evaluation of results (conducted through HKI's office in Jakarta, Indonesia) are essential components of the program.

HKI provides technical assistance to the national teaching hospitals, Yangon Eye Hospital and Mandalay Eye & ENT Hospital, as well as to Secondary Eye Centers in Upper Myanmar, which are part of the Trachoma Control and Prevention of Blindness (TC/PB) network. HKI-supported Secondary Eye Centers are located in Sagaing, Shwee Bo, Meikhtila, Min Bu, Tawng Dwingye, Sint Gaing, Monywa, Kyakpadaung, Myingyan, Pakoku, Sintgaing, and Myaing. HKI also provides assistance to general hospitals in Dawei, Sitwe, Lashio, Kyaukse, Maubin, North Oklapa, and Hinthada.

The program has experienced impressive results. The number of cataract surgeries performed by the centers HKI supports has increased from 2,541 operations before the program began in 2001 to 20,433 in 2007. This success is even more remarkable when compared to the zero increase experienced in other parts of the country in the TC/PB system. Not only were more surgeries performed, but a larger number, as high as 90% in some areas, were done with an implanted lens, resulting in a better quality of sight.

In 2008, The Asian Foundation for the Prevention of Blindness (AFPB) provided HKI's cataract program with a grant to purchase ophthalmic equipment for the Department of Ophthalmology at the Hpa An General Hospital.  AFPB is a member of the VISION2020 Right to Sight program, a global initiative to eliminate avoidable blindness launched jointly by of the World Health Organization and the International Agency of the Prevention of Blindness. To learn more about V2020, please click here.

Program Partners

• Total E&P and its partners
• Asian Foundation for the Prevention of Blindness
• Ministry of Health, Government of Myanmar
• Dawei General Hospital
• Hinthada General Hospital
• Kyakpadaung Secondary Eye Center
• Kyaukse General Hospital
• Lashio General Hospital
• Mandalay Eye & ENT Hospital
• Maubin General Hospital
• Meikhtila Secondary Eye Center
• Min Bu Secondary Eye Center
• Monywa Secondary Eye Center
• Myaing Secondary Eye Center
• Myingyan Secondary Eye Center
• North Oklapa General Hospital
• Pakoku Secondary Eye Center
• Sagaing Secondary Eye Center
• Shwee Bo Secondary Eye Center
• Sint Gaing Secondary Eye Center
• Sitwe General Hospital
• Tawng Dwingye Secondary Eye Center
• Yangon Eye Hospital

Key Staff

• John Palmer - Country Director, Indonesia & Program Advisor, Myanmar
• Roy Tjiong - Deputy Director, Indonesia & Program Advisor, Myanmar