Myanmar: the ties between health and democracy

In this viewpoint, we examined the ongoing crisis of the Myanmar health system following the military takeover of 1 February 2021, the health challenges faced by the population, and the tragic conditions in which the health professionals find themselves. We describe the efforts undertaken by representatives of the democratic health and university institutions to create the conditions for a resumption of the call for peace throughout the country and strengthen the resilience of the health system. In particular, we present the interim health service strategy devised by the Myanmar Ministry of Health (MOH), as appointed by the democratic government. The MOH's plan represents the entry point to use health as a bridge for peace and restoration of democracy and human rights, showing that the health sector of a country can be reshaped and revitalized in times of great adversity

Myanmar health professionals' educational needs: a pilot study

Background and aim of the work: The main factor hindering the development of the Myanmar health system lies in the scarcity of financial and human resources attributed to the health system. This paper presents the preliminary results of a pilot study on the educational needs of Myanmar health professionals, addressing the empowerment of human resources as a strategic pillar for delivering the essential packages of health services. Methods: An explorative study following a qualitative approach has been conducted through semi-structured interviews to a convenience sample of 15 persons, selected as authoritative key-informants. Results: In addition to the lack of infrastructures, medicines, ambulances and health instruments, and the health disparities between the urban and rural areas, some widespread problems are reported as requiring health professionals\u2019 training empowerment: traumas due to road accidents, management of childbirth, non-communicable diseases\u2019 management and poor health education of the population. Discussion: Some areas can be evidenced for an improvement of professionals, training: \u200b\u200bmaternal, neonatal and child health; communication between professionals and laypeople; Myanmar population\u2019s health education; inter-professional training between doctors and nurses, but also between health personnel and non-health personnel. Conclusions: The educational needs of Myanmar health professionals emerge as closely related to the social and health needs of the Myanmar population, to the available resources and missing resources of the country\u2019s health system and to the role of professionals within professionals/patients\u2019 relationship

The traffic light approach: indicators and algorithms to identify Covid-19 epidemic risk across Italian regions

With the beginning of the autumn-winter season, Italy experienced an increase of SARS-CoV-2 cases, requiring the Government to adopt new restrictive measures. The national surveillance system in place defines 21 key process and performance indicators addressing for each Region/Autonomous Province: (i) the monitoring capacity, (ii) the degree of diagnostic capability, investigation and contact tracing, and (iii) the characteristics of the transmission dynamics as well as the resilience of health services. Overall, the traffic light approach shows a collective effort by the Italian Government to define strategies to both contain the spread of COVID-19 and to minimize the economic and social impact of the epidemic. Nonetheless, on what principles color-labeled risk levels are assigned on a regional level, it remains rather unclear or difficult to track