Tuberculosis crisis deepens under Myanmar’s military rule

Myanmar’s junta has launched new tuberculosis control measures after infections surged by more than 40 percent and the disease’s fatality rate climbed to one in six cases, according to local healthcare workers. Doctors aligned with the opposition National Unity Government say the surge has further strained a public health system already weakened by years of neglect and disruption under military rule. “Terbocolosis patients who cannot get treatment are spreading the disease, including drug-resistant TB, in communities,” a physician, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Myanmar Now. “Since the military takeover, the number of untreated patients has more than doubled, and deaths have also increased more than twofold. Poor management of treatments and the inability to fully cure the disease are raising serious concerns.” Research suggests that tuberculosis cases in Myanmar had been steadily declining under the civilian government after 2015, but have risen sharply in the four years since the military coup, according to World Health Organization data. Myanmar has one of the highest in Southeast Asia for TB incidence and deaths. While Indonesia and the Philippines record higher overall caseloads, their fatality rates are far lower—about one in eight cases in Indonesia and just one in 166 in the Philippines, compared to one in six in Myanmar. The combined impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2021 military coup have stalled tuberculosis prevention programs in Myanmar. Since the coup, the disease has spread rapidly, but the number of patients receiving treatment has not kept pace, fueling what one senior public health physician with the National Unity Government (NUG) described as the “silent spread of TB.”“Even before, state funding for healthcare was limited. Poverty, low living standards, and ongoing internal conflicts have all posed major obstacles to controlling TB,” the NUG physician told Myanmar Now. “Under the military regime, the Ministry of Health continues to follow its old approach, regularly holding publicity events and campaigns that give the appearance of success. But in reality, activities are carried out superficially, without meaningful impact.” Following the 2021 coup, the military’s harassment of Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) healthcare workers, closure of private hospitals and clinics, and aerial attacks on medical facilities in resistance-held areas have thwarted efforts to meet TB eradication targets. Even before the military coup, Myanmar was among the countries most affected by Tuberculosis and drug-resistant TB. Efforts to control the disease under the civilian government never fully met their targets, while healthcare services have largely depended on support from international donors.Myanmar’s worsening tuberculosis crisis is being driven by economic hardship, rising food insecurity, and limited access to healthcare under military rule. Shortages of medical staff, blockades on essential medicines, and poor nutrition have further fueled the spread of the disease. In areas controlled by resistance forces and ethnic armed organizations (EAOs), the military has blocked deliveries of medicines and diagnostic tools, leaving clinics without the basic equipment needed to test for and treat TB, including drug-resistant strains. Densely populated areas, IDP (Internally Displaced Person) camps, and other hard-to-reach areas have seen higher TB transmission, experts say. “Patients in urban areas, like Yangon, may still provide medicine,” a healthcare worker, who requested anonymity, told Myanmar Now. “But in the regions outside military control, people struggle to access treatment when aid from NGO organisations have been blocked.” Healthcare workers in resistance-held areas also highlighted that these challenges can be resolved with the help of neighboring countries by opening supply routes and allowing humanitarian groups to provide assistance without restrictions. “Like in neighboring countries, Myanmar needs a nationwide programmatic approach supported by international organisations,” a senior physician who requested anonymity told Myanmar Now. She added that this includes deploying molecular diagnostic tools to detect the disease, monitoring drug resistance, conducting tests in high-burden areas, systematically tracking treatment progress, and maintaining a steady supply of medicines. “In addition, preventive treatments are needed for people living with HIV and also children under the age of five.”

Tuberculosis crisis deepens under Myanmar’s military rule

Doctors warn that poverty, disrupted healthcare, and blocked aid are driving the “silent spread” of TB, which now kills more patients in Myanmar than almost anywhere else in Southeast Asia

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