Health and Human Rights in Karen State, Eastern Myanmar

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Human Rights
• Conflict Studies

Background:

• Eastern Myanmar has a long history of conflict, leading to widespread human rights violations and poor health.
• Recent ceasefire agreements have lessened conflict intensity, but their impact on human rights violations remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess health status, healthcare access, food security, and human rights violations in eastern Myanmar during a period of reduced conflict.
• To determine if reduced conflict correlates with reduced human rights violations and to identify associated health outcomes.

Main Methods:

• A two-stage cluster survey of 686 households in eastern Myanmar was conducted.
• Data collected included health status, food security (FANTA-2 scale), and exposure to human rights violations in the 12 months prior to January 2012.

Main Results:

• 13.2% of households experienced moderate/high hunger, with food insecurity peaking before harvest.
• Diarrhea prevalence was 14.2% in children and 5.8% overall.
• Forced labor was the most common violation (24.9%), with 30.6% of households reporting at least one violation. Associations found between human rights violations and poor health outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Human rights violations and their associated health impacts continue in eastern Myanmar, even with decreased conflict.
• Future ceasefire agreements need explicit human rights protections.
• Reconciliation efforts must address the long-term health consequences of past human rights abuses.