NHEC Delivering on a Promise to Burma

Maxmilian Wechsler (New Era Journal)

The National Health and Education Committee (NHEC) is not just “another name” on the very long list of organizations opposing the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), but it is amongst the most active and effective ones.

According to some exiles and foreign NGOs interviewed recently, the approach and result of the NHEC activities, especially during past years, should be a startling example for some other opposition organizations who, despite all the funding haven’t got much to shown for all their “efforts” to help people inside Burma.

In this respect, the NHEC was commended by a representative of one NGO, who said: “They not only talk but show practical results that are helping people in Burma.”

The predecessors of the NHEC were the National Health Committee and the National Education Committee, formed in 1992 and in 1993, respectively. Both committees merged in December 1995 as an umbrella organization for the health and education of ethnic nationalities and democratic groups consisting of the Democratic Alliance of Burma, the National Democratic Front, the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, and the National League for Democracy (Liberated Area).

“Our primary objective is to create, adopt and implement national health and education policies with the equal partnership of all nationalities as well as to strengthen health and education for all people inside Burma,” explained Mr. D.G. Htawsoe,a 50-year-old Karen who is the NHEC chairperson and also Chief Medical Officer for the Karen National Union.He left Burma into exile in 1984, but returned to his native Karen territories to help his people a year later.

Mr. Htawsoe pointed out that the NHEC is built on political organizations to whom all its members belong. “Our aim is to support a future democratic Burma and future healthy community by means of education and capacity building, focusing on civilians and not the armed groups.”

“Our main target is inside Burma but we also support organizations, teams or institutions which are working along the Thai-Burma border as well as migrant workers in Thailand,” remarked Mr. Htawsoe.

The NHEC works with 28 members and affiliated organizations operating in different parts of Burma, mainly along its borders with Bangladesh, China, India and Thailand. It coordinates closely with local health and education institutions inside Burma, Back Pack Health Workers Teams, Burmese Medical Association and also with women’s and youth organizations.

“Our leadership consists of two parts,” Mr. Htawsoe said. “The first is a committee of eleven respected opposition figures from political, armed and ceasefire groups of both ethnic and democratic forces representing the Arakan, Burman, Kachin, Karen, Lahu, Mon, Pa-O, Palaung and Wa ethnic groups. The other leadership branch, also elected by the NHEC Congress held in October 2004, is the executive board that includes an executive director, one deputy director and health and education program directors.”

U Aye Saung, the NHEC’s vice-chairman and secretary general of the People’s Liberation Front, outlined other objectives of the group, such as to encourage and assist health and education work among members and affiliate organizations, to share knowledge and experience and to achieve mutual understanding, fraternity and solidarity.

He then gave some examples of the NHEC’s practical activities: “In the sphere of health, we provide assistance to ethnic health departments who then give it to the local communities inside Burma as well as to some institutions. We organize trainings for health community workers and medics and arrange capacity-trainings sessions.”

According to Mr. Htawsoe, the NHEC also sponsors representatives from ethnic and democracy groups to organize short-term trainings in some universities in Bangkok. Last year they organized training for community health workers in the ethnic areas. The NHEC is not working in refugee camps, however.

Mr. Htawsoe said that the NHEC’s current activities focuses on health and capacity-building. “We support 70 mobile health teams in Kachin, Karen and Mon states and in other areas, and are continuing with plans to establish more. We also have two model health centers, one in Mon and the other in Karen areas, and we plan to build more of them.”“In the area of education,” Mr. Htawsoe continued, “we supply schools with books, pencils and other educational materials and necessities. We do the same in ethnic areas, for different democratic organizations and migrant workers. We also provide trainings for teachers and refresh courses for trainers. Our members also attend seminars and workshops in Thailand and abroad.”

“We are also publishing and distributing books on health and education with titles like: Management Guide on Selected Health Conditions-Problems, Management Guide on Child Health, Introductory Research Methods in Education and School Education Research Journal,” he added.

When asked how the NHEC can function inside the SPDC areas, Mr. Htawsoe replied: “Our activities there are managed by ethnic groups we are working with.”

The NHEC head office is located in Chiang Mai, Thailand and its Western Branch, established in 1996, is based in New Delhi, India.

Mr. Htawsoe admitted that despite the 14-year-long effort by the NHEC to improve health and education for the people in Burma – with many achievements and much progress along the way – there’s still a long way to go for achieving the group’s goals. “The level of health care in Burma is still low and we are determined to improve it on all fronts by a primary health care approaching by providing clean water, sanitation, treating a common disease, for example.”

Mr. Htawsoe claimed that “the biggest health problem facing the people in the areas targeted by the NHEC is malaria, followed by chest diseases such as respiratory infections. The rate of these diseases has been getting higher each year. Next highest are diarrhea and dissenteria. Both diseases are related to shortages and unsafe water supplies.”

As for the status of the NHEC, Mr. Htawsoe said: “Are we a political organization as some people asking us? Well, this is a ‘little problem’ for us. Our activities, of course, concern a humanitarian assistance to the people of Burma but the structure of our organizational is more like a politically based organization. The NHEC, I must say, is based on a political organizational structure but does humanitarian work, which is a little bit confusing. I am not involved in the political work but sometimes it is difficult to separate it.”

“We don’t wait until the local people come to us but the health workers must go to them. When a villager steps in a landmine, for example, our people will send information by radio to us and we will dispatch a team of surgical workers to the area.”

According to Mr. Htawsoe, the NHEC receives financial supports from a number of NGOs, including the Danish Burma Committee and Norwegian Burma Committee and the US-based National Endowment for Democracy. He made an appeal to those who are interested in helping: “I would like to request the NGOs and other humanitarian organizations to help our people in the future, whether through the NHEC or other organizations but not to channel assistance through the SPDC. However, if they have no choice and have to go through Rangoon then they should consider it carefully to make sure that their assistance will actually arrive to the needy people.”

He added that quite many NGOs have given medical assistance through the SPDC in past years, but right now more and more of them – compared to the past 2-3 years – are distancing themselves because they are often not able to operate freely and are controlled by the SPDC.

As for the NHEC future, Mr. Htawsoe said: “We have three-year and five-year proposals that provide, among other things, more primary care centers in the ethnic areas and more model schools. We are discussing the funding with our supporters. They have told us that some proposal projects are too huge. We have told them: ‘Don’t worry about how huge our projects are because the work is not done only by our team but with the manpower of all other organizations.”

Article Courtesy from The New Era Jounal