YANGON-  The Ministry of Health and Sports has reinforced its staffs of over 400 health workers including 21 specialist doctors in Rakhine State aiming to meet the inequl balance between demand and supply for healthcare.

The ministry also announced that it will ensure that healthcare is provided equally to people living in Rakhine State without discrimination based on race, religion, gender or citizenship.

The ministry said it will issue regulations to frontline healthcare workers in order to provide equal health care access in all hospitals and health care centers as well as mobile health care teams.

Moreover, the Ministry will be nurturing health staffs including doctors, nurses and midwives yearly and it will prioritize the appointment of new health staffs in Rakhine State. 

Plans are underway to establish new Nurse and Midwifery Vocational Training School in Southern Rakhine State.

The healthcare system in Rakhine State is relatively poor. The World Health Organisation has suggested that the government should try to ensure the ratio between health staff and population is at least 22 to 10,000. In Myanmar, the average ratio between health staff and population is 16 to 10,000. In Rakhine State, the ratio between heath staff and population is five to 10,000.

The child mortality rate is higher than the average rates across the country in Rakhine. Only 19 per cent of pregnant mothers had delivered their babies at hospitals and clinics. There are outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, especially in northern Rakhine State.

About 52 per cent of respondents included in the medical research in Rakhine State said they had no sufficient healthcare access. 

The nutritional statues of children have reached the lowest level. About 38 per cent of children are underdeveloped, while 34 per cent of children are less than the average low weight. 

The Ministry will provide daily expenditures and travel allowance to health staff who will involve in the health care for returnees to Rakhine.