Insecurity Insight monitors attacks on health care in Myanmar, and based on its data, the Myanmar chapter (in Burmese and English) of the 2024 Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition (SHCC) report Epidemic of Violence identified 308 incidents of violence against or obstruction of health care in 2024. Health facilities were damaged 135 times and occupied on 67 occasions. In addition, 91 health workers were arrested and 31 killed.
– Fighting between conflict parties since the 2021 military coup has left an estimated 3.3 million people internally displaced and crippled Myanmar’s health care system amid profound insecurity.
– Damage to health facilities by military aircraft strikes almost doubled in 2024 compared to 2023, as government forces lost more territory.
– Travel restrictions and administrative barriers have drastically reduced emergency referrals, with maternal and neonatal mortality rates sharply increasing as a result.
Download the report data. Explore the data visually using our interactive map Attacked and Threatened: Health Care at Risk
Protecting Health Services from the Impact of Violence
Insecurity Insight has developed a series of regional analyses for Myanmar covering the states of Kayin, Mandalay, Rakhine, Sagaing and Shan. The analyses provide detailed information regarding reported violence against health care in each of these states and suggest approaches to mitigate and prevent such violence informed by reported patterns of violence, individual health workers’ experiences and studies of how violence disrupted the provision of services. The approach of the analyses is informed by Insecurity Insight’s Security Risk Management for Health Care Services handbook.
Measures for Health Care Providers to Mitigate the Risks Posed by the Use of Armed Drones in Myanmar
The use of armed drones in conflict is expected to rise, driven by their lower costs and reduced risks to pilots compared with manned aircraft and ground troops. Based on detailed context analysis of Myanmar, Insecurity Insight has produced a document detailing specific measures for health care providers to take to mitigate the risks posed by the use of armed drones in Myanmar.
Download the full guidance (available in Burmese and English) or access the three information posters designed for posting on walls, sharing with staff, including in trainings, using in briefings, or distributing through community networks:
– Outside When a Drone is Spotted: Burmese; English
– Inside a Building During a Drone Attack: Burmese; English
– Response During a Drone Attack: Burmese; English