How Can Farming Support Health Care in Myanmar?

The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, provides free health care services to around 10,000 people with Community Partners International (CPI)’s support. They have diversified into organic farming, livestock rearing, and food products to help fund their health care activities and provide better nutrition to the communities they serve.

“The main barrier to health care is financial.”

“We have two primary health care clinics providing services to around 2,000 households,” YMCA Nay Pyi Taw project manager Saw Jackson explains. “We serve low-income families, mostly people with irregular employment and farmers. They can’t afford health care services, especially in challenging economic times. So, the main barrier to health care is financial.”

“Our clinics are free and don’t generate income,” Saw Jackson continues. “So we started an organic farm to help sustain them. We produce rice, eggs, and vegetables and keep goats, pigs, chickens, ducks, cows, and fish. We sell eggs around the neighborhood and vegetables in the local market to cover animal food and support the clinics. We can also provide food to patients that need nutrition support.”

“The clinic’s food support lasts at least two weeks, and we can save money.”

​Daw Zar Zar, 31, is nine months pregnant with her second child and receives prenatal care through YMCA Nay Pyi Taw’s Yay Sin village clinic. “My husband is the sole breadwinner in our family,” she explains. “He does odd jobs like masonry work and fishing. Our financial situation is not good because prices are rising. We are struggling.”

“I have attended four appointments at the clinic during my pregnancy,” confirms Daw Zar Zar. “A nurse checks my abdomen, carries out basic tests, and advises me how to stay healthy. I have also received rice, eggs, dried noodles, and beans from the clinic. It really helps because food is becoming more and more expensive. The clinic’s food support lasts at least two weeks, and we can save money.”

“I am really satisfied with the services at the YMCA clinic,” she continues. “If the clinic didn’t exist, pregnant women like me, the elderly, and people with chronic diseases would struggle to get regular health care.”

​​Myanmar’s ongoing crisis makes Daw Zar Zar guarded about her children’s future. “I don’t have much hope for them,” she admits. “I would like to start a business to increase our income after I give birth. We will support them as much as we can to finish their education. If that’s not possible, we will teach them vocational skills like tailoring. They can survive with that. If the YMCA clinic didn’t exist, I don’t think we would be alive now.”

U San Hla, 68, is a retired chef. He and his wife suffer from diabetes and hypertension. “We knew the nurses from the YMCA clinic and they invited us to visit two years ago,” he explains. “Since then, we have been regularly accessing treatment there. We have never missed an appointment. All the services are free and the staff are very sweet to us. On rare occasions, we have to buy medicines at an external pharmacy due to shortages at the clinic, but mostly we get them free.”

“Because we have chronic diseases, we need to seek healthcare regularly,” U San Hla continues. “We can’t afford to go to private clinics. The clinic also provides us with nutrition support such as rice, potatoes, eggs, and oil once every four months. We are very thankful for their support. If the YMCA clinic didn’t exist, I don’t think we would be alive now.”

The YMCA Nay Pyi Taw also provides training and small grants to local people to support them to grow food crops and raise livestock. “We organize training about organic farming for people in nearby villages,” explains Saw Jackson. “Each year, we also provide ten small grants of 200,000 kyats ($95 at the time of writing) to households that apply for small-scale agriculture and livestock initiatives.”

“Now, I have eighteen goats and I take care of them like my children.”

U Htun Win, 65, is one of the participants in the scheme. “I live with my wife. She is not in good health. She is bedridden and I take care of her,” he reveals. “Three years ago, I received 200,000 kyats from the YMCA to start a goat herd. I had never bred goats before, but they gave me training and advice. You don’t need lots of space to keep them.”

“I bought three female goats and one male goat and built a pen for them beside my house,” U Htun Win explains. “It doesn’t cost much to feed them. I take them out to graze near our village and there are many grasses and plants for them to eat. Now, I have eighteen goats and I take care of them like my children.”

When prices are good, U Htun Win sells goats to supplement their income. “Goat meat is in high demand,” he confirms. “I sold four at the market for 65,000 kyats ($31 at the time of writing) each.” But caring for his goats brings challenges. “About six of my goats died of disease in the last two years,” confirms U Htun Win. “Even though they get fewer diseases than other livestock, I feel so sad when they suffer or die.”
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U Tun Win has ambitions for the future and hopes the YMCA can continue to help him. “I would like to improve the pen to give the goats more space and make it warmer in the cold season,” he reveals. “Then I think they would reproduce more and I could have twenty-five or thirty goats. I’d also like to grow bottle gourds and pumpkins beside the pen. They can grow in most types of soil and the goat manure would make good fertilizer. I am very thankful to the YMCA for helping me. With their support, I can do what I want now and I feel happy with my goats.”

“We will do everything we can to continue.”

Reflecting on the work of the YMCA Nay Pyi Taw, project manager Saw Jackson would like to expand their services. “If we have the funds, we would like to add investigation services such as ultrasound and blood tests,” he confirms. “Most patients need these services but they can’t afford them so miss their appointments. We would also like to provide dental services because we have dentists who are willing to volunteer.”

Saw Jackson and his colleagues are also looking to improve the revenue streams that help support the clinics. “Selling livestock and other products from the organic farm is not that profitable,” he explains. “In 2022, we started to develop value-added products like sausages and egg pudding, and sell them door-to-door and through member networks to increase profits.”

Saw Jackson is proud of how much they have achieved with limited resources in difficult times. “The most significant impact is that the clinics are still operating despite the difficult situation in Myanmar. Some clinics couldn’t operate and closed down, but we are still providing services. We will do everything we can to continue.”