Contemporary Women Filmmakers in Myanmar: Reflections on a Visit in February 2019

Existing accounts of Myanmar’s film industry available to English speakers are more than twenty years out of date. Opening with a brief overview of cinema in Myanmar since 2000, this article is based on a recent visit to the Myanmar Motion Picture Development Department and the Yangon Film School, on conversations with staff, students and alumnae of these institutions and of the National University of Arts and Culture, and with local independent filmmakers. The purpose of my visit was to begin the groundwork needed to answer basic questions: Who are the women making films in Myanmar today? Where are they trained? What are the conditions in which they work? What kind of films they make? How do they fund production? How do their films circulate? And finally: Is there a women’s cinema in Myanmar? What follows thus outlines the context in which women in Myanmar make films today and introduces the work of a small number of them. I conclude with reflections on three short films: A Million Threads (2006, by Thu Thu Shein), Now I am 13 (2013, by Shin Daewe), and Seeds of Sadness (2018, by Thae Zar Chi Khaing), two of which can be found online (at http://yangonfilmschool.org/___-free-yfs-film/ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vX0LUZQcMCQ)

Rapid soil analytical techniques for international agricultural research and development

Soil analysis is used to assess natural resources and inform management to improve long-term farming profitability. Conventional techniques typically use different methods, equipment, reagents and skills to measure each soil property of interest. The consequence is that a conventional soil laboratory is expensive to set up, maintain and run. These issues result in many countries (and organisations) having to do without a well-functioning conventional soil laboratory. Developments in spectroscopic and potentiometric methods of soil analysis means that these countries need not go without reliable soil analysis

Increase coverage of HIV and AIDS services in Myanmar

Myanmar is experiencing an HIV epidemic documented since the late 1980s. The National AIDS Programme national surveillance ante-natal clinics had already estimated in 1993 that 1.4% of pregnant women were HIV positive, and UNAIDS estimates that at end 2005 1.3% (range 0.7–2.0%) of the adult population was living with HIV. While a HIV surveillance system has been in place since 1992, the programmatic response to the epidemic has been slower to emerge although short- and medium-terms plans have been formulated since 1990. These early plans focused on the health sector, omitted key population groups at risk of HIV transmission and have not been adequately funded. The public health system more generally is severely under-funded

Project impact story : the Enlightened Myanmar Research Foundation

The project partnership works to strengthen parliamentary democracy and to build essential skills. This brief article reviews a “train-the-trainers” activity held to equip participants with skills to train parliamentarians and parliamentary staff in conducting legislative research. The Enlightened Myanmar Research Foundation (EMReF) hopes to become an accredited think-tank with the ability to offer capacity building sessions on parliamentary research to more subnational parliaments as well as to academic institutions

Impact story : Daw Khin Htar Yee, member of the Shan State Hluttaw, Myanmar

The article reviews a group of Myanmar parliamentarians and parliamentary staff who took part in practical training in parliamentary research, facilitated by the Parliamentary Centre and the Enlightened Myanmar Research Foundation (EMReF) with the participation of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario (Canada). The activity included Daw Htar Yee, elected government representative who, at a time when the rights for ethnic parties were still limited, was involved in the risky activity of recruiting members in a constituency with strong military presence

Conducting a Street‐Intercept Survey in an Authoritarian Regime: The Case of Myanmar*

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149211/1/ssqu12611_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149211/2/ssqu12611.pd

Possibility of Entrepreneurship in Myanmar

The economic enterprise in Myanmar has the potential for further development. With the hope to add some value to the daily lives of the people of Myanmar, in this endeavor, the present study reviews the extant literature of other countries developed earlier than Myammar. An exceptional study from the viewpoint of international business by Praharad （2010）shows that large companies could contribute to the enhancement of human life in developing counties. Five billion people in such countries could escape poverty through the creation of highly profitable businesses. Thus, instead of using approaches designed for developed nations, large companies could employ specific tactics to improve the wealth of both their companies and those in developing countries. Morduch et al.（2009）utilized the original research method of dairy finance to investigate financial activities in developing countries, and found a scarcity of opportunities for support in the following areas: 1）daily finance management, 2）long term financial savings, and 3）borrowing money for any purpose. Duflo’s（2010）primary investigation performed randomized comparative experiments to evaluate human development, health care, independent policy-making, and country governance. She deduced that policy goals must be aligned for the institution of effective educational strategies. Substantial medical costs must be incurred for health care. Governments should devote funds to disease prevention rather than medical treatment. Policy-making in developing countries clearly display the time inconsistencies of implementation. Loans at higher interest rates are apparently useful and, as a result, necessary. Frequent corruptions in the developing public fora and other such issues evidently inhibit development. Banerjee and Duflo（2011）revealed unprecedented findings on the lives of impoverished people. Poor people encounter food shortages; consequently, the low-priced foods such as grains are provided via international organizations and richer countries. Yet, many in such circumstances do not purchase other food to add more nutrition for their healthier survivals. People in the developing part of the world are, just like those in other countries, interested in a wide variety of food choices and options as well as modes of entertainment. These studies suggest that developing countries like Myanmar require the improvement of basic infrastructure in education, health and well-being, finance, and policy-making. Yet, these facets expose differences in the adjudication of methods for social change between developing and developed countries. Suitable field surveys are therefore critical for future research on the developments and entrepreneurship in Myanmar.departmental bulletin pape

Anti-malarial landscape in Myanmar: results from a nationally representative survey among community health workers and the private sector outlets in 2015/2016

Abstract Background In 2015/2016, an ACTwatch outlet survey was implemented to assess the anti-malarial and malaria testing landscape in Myanmar across four domains (Eastern, Central, Coastal, Western regions). Indicators provide an important benchmark to guide Myanmar’s new National Strategic Plan to eliminate malaria by 2030. Methods This was a cross-sectional survey, which employed stratified cluster-random sampling across four regions in Myanmar. A census of community health workers (CHWs) and private outlets with potential to distribute malaria testing and/or treatment was conducted. An audit was completed for all anti-malarials, malaria rapid diagnostic tests. Results A total of 28,664 outlets were approached and 4416 met the screening criteria. The anti-malarial market composition comprised CHWs (41.5%), general retailers (27.9%), itinerant drug vendors (11.8%), pharmacies (10.9%), and private for-profit facilities (7.9%). Availability of different anti-malarials and diagnostic testing among anti-malarial-stocking CHWs was as follows: artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) (81.3%), chloroquine (67.0%), confirmatory malaria test (77.7%). Less than half of the anti-malarial-stocking private sector had first-line treatment in stock: ACT (41.7%) chloroquine (41.8%), and malaria diagnostic testing was rare (15.4%). Oral artemisinin monotherapy (AMT) was available in 27.7% of private sector outlets (Western, 54.1%; Central, 31.4%; Eastern; 25.0%, Coastal; 15.4%). The private-sector anti-malarial market share comprised ACT (44.0%), chloroquine (26.6%), and oral AMT (19.6%). Among CHW the market share was ACT (71.6%), chloroquine (22.3%); oral AMT (3.8%). More than half of CHWs could correctly state the national first-line treatment for uncomplicated falciparum and vivax malaria (59.2 and 56.9%, respectively) compared to the private sector (15.8 and 13.2%, respectively). Indicators on support and engagement were as follows for CHWs: reportedly received training on malaria diagnosis (60.7%) or national malaria treatment guidelines (59.6%), received a supervisory or regulatory visit within 12 months (39.1%), kept records on number of patients tested or treated for malaria (77.3%). These indicators were less than 20% across the private sector. Conclusion CHWs have a strong foundation for achieving malaria goals and their scale-up is merited, however gaps in malaria commodities and supplies must be addressed. Intensified private sector strategies are urgently needed and must be scaled up to improve access and coverage of first-line treatments and malaria diagnosis, and remove oral AMT from the market place. Future policies and interventions on malaria control and elimination in Myanmar should take these findings into consideration across all phases of implementation