Strengthening a Fragmented Health System Amidst Recurrent Attacks in Myanmar: A Grassroots Approach to Building Resilience

Speaker: Dr Phyu Phyu Thin Zaw, Lecturer at the School of Public Health, University of Hong Kong

Presented in partnership with Myanmar Research Network

This presentation first explores the historical impact of political and conflict dynamics on Myanmar's health system, and how the recent coup and ongoing health system attacks have caused the system to collapse.

The second part briefly examines the role of various health initiatives in both liberated and non-liberated areas of Myanmar that are attempting to revive the collapsed system.

Finally, as a grassroots approach to building health system resilience and promoting peace-making skills among health workers in crisis settings, this presentation explores a case study on a capacity-building training program for health workers in conflict-affected areas at the School of Health, Spring University Myanmar.

This is a free event but registration is essential. To register, please email Pan Hsu on pan.pyaeeain@unimelb.edu.au

Speaker Biography

Phyu Phyu Thin Zaw is a Myanmar Australian Fellow at both the University of Melbourne and the Australian National University. She is a medical doctor, epidemiologist, and lecturer at the University of Hong Kong. Phyu Phyu obtained her MBBS degree from the University of Medicine Mandalay, completed her Master of Public Policy degree at the Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford University, and earned her PhD in Epidemiology from Prince of Songkla University, Thailand. She also got her postdoctoral training as a WHO fellow at Asia Health Policy Programme at Stanford University, USA.

In addition to her academic work, Phyu Phyu serves as the Head of the School of Health at Spring University Myanmar and is a board member of One to One Campaign, which supports the "Healthcare Provision and Livelihood Support Project in conflict-affected regions." She is also a member of the "Steering Committee, Science in Exile Initiatives" at The World Academy of Sciences, UNESCO, advocating for science in conflict-affected countries. Prior to her academic career, Phyu Phyu gained substantial experience in health system strengthening while working for the Ministry of Health and Sports in Myanmar for 12 years.