Burma Journal: The Hard Work of Healing Is a Bitter Pill for Doctors

Burma is not a good place to get sick. It’s a bad place for a lot of things — basic freedoms, rule of law, taxis (the fleet in Rangoon is about 30 years old and suffering from some seriously gnarly transmission ailments). Still, the government has an abysmal record when it comes to helping the sick: In 2005, UNICEF reported that the government spent a paltry 40 cents a year on health care per citizen (in comparison, the Thai government spent nearly $61 per person). In 2000, Burma’s health care system was ranked 190th out of 191 countries by the World Health Organization.

It’s one thing for journalists and political activists to assume names and maintain low profiles, but what struck me as particularly poignant is the fact that doctors, too, must take on aliases and watch their step when they decide to forgo state-sanctioned employment and help fellow Burmese on their own.

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