[Donation of medicines to Burma] Last week, 28,000 treatments, or 2.3 tonnes of health products, left for Burma. These medicines were donated to a long-standing partner of the Tulipe association: the Association Médicale Franco-Asiatique (AMFA France).
The shipment should arrive in 4 to 5 weeks in this country, which is at a turning point in the civil war that broke out in February 2021: the junta in power is more fragile than ever. The Tulipe association and its member health companies have donated canteens filled with medicines. These products will help to treat the many displaced people in rural areas and injured fighters against the junta. “The large number of doctors and nurses who left their posts at the time of the junta’s coup d’état are receiving the containers of donations and dispatching them according to the needs of the various hospitals in the recovered territories. Small field hospitals have been built. A much larger rear hospital has also just been completed. It is these small hospitals and dispensaries that will receive the Tulipe trunks. The mobile teams of doctors and nurses who go from village to village will also benefit from medicines donated by the Tulipe association”, explains Professor Alain Patel, President of the AMFA.
The beginning of the end for the military junta in Burma?
The situation in Burma is changing rapidly. After 2 years of guerrilla warfare in the jungle, rebels and minorities are fighting on several fronts, inflicting defeat after defeat on the junta. ” Is this the beginning of the end? asked journalist Jérémy André in an online article published in Le Point on 28 November. For Alain Patel, who is following the situation very closely: “In recent weeks the troops of the Government of National Unity (NUG) have regained ground and now control a large number of territories, particularly on Burma’s eastern border, including the roads leading to China. The NUG has succeeded in achieving unanimity among the various rebel groups, bringing together all the ethnic groups and offering them representation in a future post-junta government. For the first time, the military junta’s soldiers raised the white flag and began to desert.
Donations of medicines in Burma: thinking about the post-Junta period
If the current regime were to be overthrown, the humanitarian needs would be enormous. For AMFA, this would mean contributing to the reconstruction and reorganisation of the local healthcare system: “Twenty-three of the medical dispensaries we set up before the civil war are now located in areas occupied by the junta. Once the junta has been ousted from power, they will have to be repossessed and resupplied with medicines. The medical staff who deserted when the junta took power will return and quickly reinvest in the health system. On the other hand, the need for medicines will be very great”, explains Professor Alain Patel, President of AMFA, of which he is a founding member.
The missions of the Franco-Asian Medical AssociationAMFA’s role was not limited to sending doctors, anaesthetists, nurses and technicians to wherever they were needed, but now the civil war has made it impossible to go to Burma. The association, which is present in Burma, is seeking to train local health workers to a high level of medical competence. AMFA has also participated in and supported the creation of medical and hospital facilities in the country. The association carried out a follow-up action by sending volunteer bio-medical technicians to ensure the sustainability of their know-how. “We hope to be able to resume our work as soon as peace arrives,” says Alain Patel.
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