Myanmar: Health System

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Thursday 29th February 2024 Grand Committee

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, I, too, thank the noble Lord, Lord Crisp, for initiating this debate on an area which we often take our eyes off. The situation is pretty dire. I also welcome the Government’s continued support for NHS partners through the Tropical Health and Education Trust. As the noble Lord said, many of those clinicians are Burmese, and are helping their friends and colleagues there—they do a tremendous job—but also serving the NHS. We should not forget that.

The military are widely opposed by the public and have been accused of war crimes against their own people. Two-thirds of the country is gripped by conflict. The military now appears to have lost control of the country. Of course, the Covid pandemic and military coup left in ruins the already minimal healthcare system in the country. As we have heard in the debate, following the post-coup crackdown on peaceful protests, health workers created informal networks to help to treat those injured by the military. They then become the targets and face beatings, arrest and torture. Fleeing those military-controlled towns and cities, they work with other organisations—some join new armed forces set up by the resistance and civil society organisations.

However, as we have heard, most aid, including for healthcare, is channelled via the military-controlled Yangon and then to international and UN agencies. As was highlighted by the noble Lord, Lord Bruce, I ask the Minister what assessment the FCDO has made of the effectiveness of aid going through the ever-shrinking areas of Myanmar that are still under military control. While there is now some welcome flexibility in the way that aid is being delivered, there is a case for a complete review of how it reaches those most in need. They are very often not in those military-controlled areas.

I want to touch on another issue. Despite UN Resolution 2669, the Myanmar military has been targeting clinics and hospitals in areas that are not under its control, with deliberate and repeated air strikes and artillery attacks. As the noble Baroness, Lady Northover, said, many civil society organisations in Myanmar have repeatedly called for sectoral sanctions to limit deliveries of aviation fuel to Myanmar. I know what the Minister will say when we ask for additional sanctions—that we do not normally announce these in advance. However, I hope that he will address the issue of what we are doing with our allies to reduce the Myanmar military’s access to aviation fuel. What other support can we give those health centres in terms of an advance warning system? With those few comments, I hope that the Minister is able to respond to the questions in the debate.