In a country that has been ruled by the military junta since 1962, where its ethnic women are raped with impunity by military soldiers, and where less than 3% of the national budget is spent on healthcare, Burma must not be forgotten by the international community.

Half of Burma’s 54 million people are women. The ignorant and failed policies of Burma’s military regime have caused women and children to endure extreme suffering. UNIFEM reports a high rate of maternal mortality (approximately 517 per 100,000 live births), and their children suffer from an extremely high rate of moderate malnutrition and preventable diseases. A UNICEF study reveals that out of the 1.3 million children born every year in Burma, more than 92,500 will die before they reach their first birthday and another 138,000 will die before the age of 5.

The situation is even more dire in Burma’s conflict zones, where official investment in health, especially reproductive health, is essentially non-existent. Abuses against the predominantly non-Burman population are rife, including the brutal and systematic rape of women and girls.

In these conflict zones, as many as 1 in 12 women will die as a result of pregnancy-related causes, a number far worse than Burma’s national figure of 1 in 75 - already the worst in the region. These deaths are mainly preventable, the result of postpartum hemorrhage, unsafe abortion, and obstructed delivery. Further, high fertility rates, reflecting lack of access to reproductive technologies, as well as the high prevalence of conditions such as malnutrition and anemia, increase the risk of unnecessary death from pregnancy. In eastern Burma, only 4% of births are attended by skilled birth attendants, far lower than the official figure of 57% for the rest of the country.

Though international NGOs have published reproductive health education materials in Burmese, they are usually not provided in ethnic languages as the regime fails to promote the rights of ethnic/indigenous people. The lack of health care, educational facilities, economic mismanagement, and ongoing severe human rights abuses drive many people out of the country. Burma’s problems are a threat to the region’s security and stability. So far, the regional governments have ignored the reality of Burma.

For the women who have suffered greatly, I hope that the Obama administration will bring Burma’s crises to the UN Security Council as a main concern and continue to support an economic sanction policy. It is the only way to ensure that agencies like the UNFPA and others will be able to provide the much needed services and hope to the Burmese people.

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In response to the Community Chat, "American Foreign Policy and Women's Global Health" hosted by The WIP and Americans for the UNFPA, Parul Sharma offers her concerns in this essay and will participate in the conversation.

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