Since the coup on the1st of February 2021, more than 900 innocent civilians have been killed by the military regime, and thousands have been unlawfully detained with 5200 activists still in detention. And then, from early June, a deadly third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the nation with many of the those infected losing their lives at home with little or no medical care. According to the WHO, Myanmar has seen a 1442% increase in COVID-19 cases and a 6355% increase in COVID-19 deaths between the period of 14th of June and 12th of July, and it’s getting worse.

Many of the deaths could have been preventable, had the patients received basic medical support such as oxygen, regular monitoring of vital signs, and simple antibiotics for infection control. Nevertheless, we are seeing an upward trend of a 119% increase in weekly cases with limited hospital beds, shortage of medications, scarcity of oxygen and a backlog of dead bodies in cemeteries. 

While most countries have received support from their authorities throughout the pandemic in various forms, this has not been the recent experience of the people of Myanmar, with the military regime seemingly repurposing the pandemic to try and subdue the people into accepting their rule. The regime’s actions of taking over oxygen refill stations, arresting health care workers, and confiscating medical aid to those who need it paint a clear picture that the military regime have little intention to help the people of Myanmar control the pandemic.

This petition calls on national governments, international organisations and businesses to:

1. Pressure Myanmar’s military to allow humanitarian access to all communities in Myanmar, without hinderance.
2. Provide humanitarian aid in the form of finance, medication, protective gear, ventilators, oxygen supply and vaccines etc., to the NUG and Ethnic Health Organisations to ensure their indiscriminate and unhindered distribution.

Please check how else you can help: The Right to Health Campaign (answermyanmar.org) 

Love to all of Myanmar's supporters!