The conflict in Myanmar has resulted in a severe humanitarian crisis, with over 18.6 million people requiring assistance in 2024. The collapse of the public healthcare system, combined with widespread violence, has left many without access to essential services. The situation is further exacerbated by a growing public health crisis, including outbreaks of Acute Watery Diarrhea (AWD) and cholera across the country, including low-resources and hard-to-reach areas.
To support Myanmar’s health response, the World Health Organization (WHO), through the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), deployed two experts remotely to provide critical technical expertise. These experts, from GOARN partner institutions—specifically the European Programme for Intervention Epidemiology Training (EPIET)—completed two consecutive multi-week deployments, ensuring technical support to the AWD and Cholera outbreak response. Their efforts focused on offering outbreak response guidance, including data analytics to inform preventive and response measures through a multi-pronged approach. The GOARN experts worked closely with WHO and other partners to identify high-risk areas and support timely outbreak detection and response.
The GOARN deployments contributed to develop evidence--based tools to predict the likelihood of cholera and AWD transmission, inform coordination among multiple sector partners, enhance the prioritization of the response according to data-informed approach.
“GOARN continuously adapts to working in different situations and adopts new approaches. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we expanded the use of remote deployments more extensively when various restrictions impeded onsite support. Today, we continue to use remote deployments when necessary to overcome challenges. We ensure that support reaches those who need it most and provide countries with essential technical assistance.” said Armand Bejtullahu, GOARN Manager.
“The support we have received from GOARN experts has been invaluable in strengthening our response to the outbreaks,” said Dr Fernando Thushara, WHO Country Representative in Myanmar. “Their expertise in outbreak management has significantly enhanced our readiness for response capacity, particularly in terms of coordination with partners as per health needs.”
A key component of the remote deployments was to produce additional analytics which are currently informing inter-agency and inter-cluster response, both in terms of preventive and response measures. GOARN deployments have ensured the sustainability of response efforts by also providing remote capacity building and technical guidance to relevant cluster partners delivering multi-pronged response to the AWD and cholera transmission.
"WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia collaborated closely with the experts to address the growing risks of outbreak transmission. Moving forward, we will continue to work with GOARN partners to address the ongoing needs and enhance surveillance activities, which are critical to informing both the response and recovery efforts in the Region" said Dr Nilesh Buddha, Ag Regional Emergency Director in New Delhi.
The GOARN-supported efforts have played a crucial role in mitigating the growing risks associated to the transmission of AWD and cholera. While significant progress has been made, continued support remains essential for Myanmar’s outbreak surveillance activities and recovery. GOARN remains committed to providing remote technical expertise to support the country’s long-term public health efforts.