Asia Ventilation Forum
The Asia Ventilation Forum (AVF) is a not-for-profit organisation comprising members from different Asian countries. We share our knowledge and experience in respiratory care and critical care with intensive care unit (ICU) workers across the continent with the aim of improving care and outcomes for the critically ill. There are two AVF Podcast series. "Behind-The-Scenes ICU Stories" invites colleagues to share anything and everything on their personal experiences. Expect heart-to-heart discussions on topics that may or may not have been widely described in the medical literature. "The Challenges of Airway Management During the Pandemic" invites colleagues to share anything and everything on how they deal with various clinical situations. Expect discussions on how experts personalise evidence-based medicine for the patient at the bedside. These Podcasts are hosted by Dr Jason Phua, respiratory physician and intensivist at Alexandra Hospital, National University Health System, Singapore, and Dr Jose Emmanuel Palo, intensivist at The Medical City, the Philippines.
Asia Ventilation Forum
A doctor in Myanmar – For patients, for country: Anonymous
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Season 1
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Episode 8
In this AVF Podcast: Behind-The-Scenes ICU Stories episode, an anaesthesiologist and intensivist from Myanmar provides a disturbing account of the humanitarian crisis that has gripped her country since its military coup in February 2021, while also sharing her inspiring story – and those of her fellow healthcare workers – of courage and defiance, and of duty and patriotism. To ensure the safety of the doctor, her family, and her colleagues, her identity has not been revealed, and her voice has been distorted post-recording.
Issues discussed in this interview:
- The military coup in Myanmar and the subsequent civil disobedience movement
- How healthcare workers struggled to treat civilian protestors gunned down by the military
- The military’s crackdown on healthcare workers
- How healthcare workers have continued to provide aid
- Limited healthcare resources amidst the COVID-19 pandemic
- Humanitarian crisis in areas such as the Chin state
- A call for help from the international community
Work cited:
- Krisha G, Howard S. Myanmar doctors are under fire from the military and covid-19. BMJ 2021;375:n2409. doi: https://www.bmj.com/content/375/bmj.n2409.
- Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma). https://aappb.org/.
- Violence Against or Obstruction of Health Care in Myanmar, Feb-Sep 2021. Published 26 Oct 2021.http://insecurityinsight.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Violence-Against-Health-Care-in-Myanmar-February-September-2021-October-update.pdf.
- U.S. concerned over Myanmar army operations in Chin state, town ablaze. Reuters. Published 1 Nov 2021. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/us-says-it-is-concerned-by-alleged-human-rights-abuse-by-myanmar-security-forces-2021-10-31/
- University of Oxford. Our World in Data. Myanmar: Coronavirus Pandemic Country Profile. https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus/country/myanmar.