Steve Finch

Myanmar health services emerging from decades of neglect.

When Tin Mya developed a sore, swollen stomach in November 2012, it took a four-hour boat ride to reach the nearest hospital in remote western Myanmar. Lamenting the long, slow haul from her home in Sintat Hmaw, one of dozens of islands off Myanmar’s Bay of Bengal coastline, Tin Mya was one of

Philippines brain drain: fact or fiction?

Every Filipino medical professional knows the statistic. In recent years, this Southeast Asian nation has ranked number one for exporting nurses and number two for sending doctors overseas, according to the University of the Philippines in Manila. Between 2004 and 2010, nearly 72 000 Filipino

Thailand top destination for medical tourists

Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, can feel like a shopping mall or five-star hotel. It offers 21 VIP suites and the mezzanine has a McDonald’s. On the floor below, people line up to buy lattes and Americanos from a Starbucks. Sitting nearby with coffees, a father and son

Health challenges in the Golden Land.

Emerging from the shadows of five decades of military rule, the nation once known as the “Jewel of Asia” is beset by an array of less than illustrious health challenges, including high rates of beri-beri, malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB). And while Myanmar is initiating reforms at a pace

Laos struggles to lower maternal mortality

When 32-year-old Bouavanh Songmala was growing up in a remote village in Laos, death during child birth was all too common. United Nations (UN) agencies estimated there were 1215 such deaths per 100 000 live births in 1990. At the time, Laos had few midwives; none had been trained between 1987 and

Medical tourism driving health care disparity in Thailand

The rise of medical tourism in Thailand has left the country’s health care system facing a critical test. As the government looks to attract ever higher numbers of overseas patients, there are concerns that access to health care for its own population of 67 million may suffer, admit Thai health

Laos struggles to meet vaccine goals

Laos has one of the highest economic growth rates in the region in recent years — about eight percent — but it also has a budget shortfall. That means many state workers, including doctors and nurses, haven’t been paid in months. Amid the ongoing fiscal crisis, aid workers were concerned the

Taiwan food scandals prompt new, stricter laws.

After at least five cooking-oil scandals in November 2013 alone, Taiwan’s authorities appeared to have had enough. In mid-December, Kao Chengli, head of Chang Chi Foodstuff Factory, was found guilty of 22 violations, including using an illegal colouring agent (copper chlorophyllin) in his company

Lowering drug prices in China proves challenging

Xu Kunqing’s job at a food wholesaler in the bustling city of Guangzhou in southern China pays well. On top of a salary of 2000 yuan (

In the Philippines, the long wait for free sexual health care continues

343) per month, he gets free housing and meals. But after acquiring nephritis in 2002, he developed a chronic kidney condition and the 39-year-old father of three