| The meeting was opened with welcome remarks by
the local host Dr. Chan Aung. There were brief introductory remarks by all
attendees. Dr. Talwar presented the annual financial report which showed a
balance of $6397.20 in the savings account and $78.97 in the checking
account. Details of the report can be found on our website. He also gave
us a brief historical account of BMA-NA including its triumphs and
tribulations over the years.
Dr. Than Win presented the current HIV/AIDS crisis in Burma. No one
knows the exact numbers but the WHO estimates that there are approximately
530,000 infected persons in Burma today. About 2 percent of the adult
population is infected. Everyone infected is going to die. Because of
limited resources, confidential screening for HIV, providing ARVs and
monitoring therapy is not feasible at national level. To contain the
epidemic, aggressive preventive measures need to be undertaken. The
government now acknowledges that HIV/AIDS is a national concern and ranks
it one of the top three priority communicable diseases in the country
along with malaria and tuberculosis. The UN is the one of the top
principal source of external funding of HIV/AIDS prevention efforts in the
country and it is fair to say that all the UN agencies are grossly under
funded. To give you some perspective, Burma currently spends about US 10
million dollars a year in contrast to Thailand which has about the same
population and similar HIV dynamics, spends US 200 million dollars
annually. HIV/AIDS is a complex public health as well as social,
political and economic issue and there are no easy and quick fixes.
BMA-NA can play a role in alleviating the burden of HIV by participating
in the training of physicians with regards to prevention, diagnosis and
treatment strategies. My personal experience after talking to
several colleagues back home is that they lack the basic skills in dealing
with HIV related issues. We can engage the Myanmar Medical
Association to allow us to work with the General Practitioner Society of
Myanmar to provide training to the GPs. I have also started a
project to bring a physician from Myanmar to Chicago for an advanced study
tour in collaboration with the CORE center and the Division of Infectious
Diseases of Cook County Hospital and Rush Presbyterian St. Lukes Medical
Center in Chicago. The hope is to be able to provide on going
exchange as well as technical and financial support under research
protocols in the future by these institutions. As a matter of fact,
the US Congress has lifted a ban on HIV/AIDS research projects in Burma
involving NIH funds last May.
We can also send medical journals and textbooks that we routinely throw
away to our colleagues back home. Professor Win Win Kyi, and English
professor at Bergen University in New Jersey has started a project called
"Books for Development " and has shipped over 6000 pounds of
books last year to Burma. She specifically requested the BMA-NA
to send medical journals to her. She can be reached at wkyi@bergen.edu
. Her mailing address in Myanmar Youth Organization International
House, 390 Washington Avenue, Hackensak, NJ 07601.
During the open discussion, Dr. Samuels who has been to the Mae Tao
clinic several times, stated that there were Shan, Kayin and Kayah
commercial sex workers whose clients refuse to wear condoms. Dr.
Alice Khin from Canada argued that HIV/AIDS is a human rights issue as
most of the sex workers are either internally displaced persons or
refugees who are sucked into the sex industry. Being illegal aliens in
Thailand, they do not enjoy any rights whatsoever and are not in a
position to demand that their client use condoms even if they were
educated about HIV/AIDS. Concerns were raised by Dr. Susan Soni with
regards to funds and donations reaching the target population. Dr.
Kyain Kyain Sein suggested that there ware other NGOs such as Save the
Children and World Vision International who can serve as intermediaries
and coordinate the logistics of aid distribution. Dr. Win Win Soe
who is attending the MPH program at Emory University in Atlanta recommends
sending money to buy medicines there is cheaper than sending medicines.
Dr. Naidu stated acknowledging receipt of donation is important for the
donors as well as the organization. Dr. Phone Myint Win who is a
forensic pathologist stated that the Ministry of Health does not want any
mention of AIDS related dementia in his report to the ministry.
Dr. Bernard Wu suggested forming a subcommittee for administration and
oversight of soliciting, collection and distribution of funds. Drs.
Naidu and Than Win will co-chair the committee.
The next topic discussed was studying and getting good scores on the
USMLE exam by Dr. Shwe Myat Kyaw who came to the US in 1997. He
studied for seven months. He recommends spending $ 5000.00 for
tuition. He said that it is important to set target date for the
exam. He strongly recommends taking a mock test with scores in the
80-90 percent before taking the actual test as obtaining higher scores is
more important than a mere pass to get into a residency program. He
suggests taking the Clinical Skills Assessment test after Part 1 and Part
2 while the material is still fresh in your mind. The most important
factor in the CSA exam is communication skills and bedside manners.
It is important to aim to get over 85 points in each step. He also
has encouragement for those with poor scores. He suggests getting an
externship and offer to volunteer for 4- 6 months which will allow you to
demonstrate your clinical skills and get you in through the back door.
He can be reach at smgyan@hotmail.com.
The next topic discussed was donation to MMA for support of physicians
seventy and older in Burma. An affiliation with BMA Thailand which
has about 500 members in Manerplaw was also discussed. Involvement
in a 2 year Medic and a 6 month Back Pack Health Workers training program
was also discussed. Mrs. Samuels reports her involvement with the
Cetana Education Foundation which funs doctors to train in Thailand in
public health. You can mail your donations to Cetana Education
Foundation, 90 Mt. Lucas Road, Princeton, NJ 09540. Dr., Stan Ting
briefly brought up the Thai government's report on the hidden cost of
treating illegal Burmese migrants. The whole report is posted
on our web site.
The next agenda was to select the new secretary. Dr. Beatrice
Ting nominated Dr. Chan Aung who regretfully declined. Dr.
Than Win nominated Dr. Han Myint who is also from Chicago and was seconded
by Dr. Talwar. Dr. Chan Aung was nominated to be the President-elect
by Dr. Beatrice Ting, Seconded by Dr. Aye Lwin which he gracefully
accepted and was unanimously voted by all present. Venue for next year's
meeting was discussed and Dr. James Hsu offered to host it in New York.
There was some discussion between New York and California but since there
were no representatives from California, New York is the tentative venue.
Details will be announced in the February 2003 News letter and on the BMA-NA
web site.
Report of the Business Meeting on Sunday, August 4, 2002.
Dr. Than Win opened the meeting as the new president with his vision
and purpose for the organization in the next two years. He will
visit key states with other Burmese professionals. He will also
re-instate the 501(C)-3 non profit organization status to facilitate
donations by other foundations, pharmaceutical companies and charitable
organizations. He will visit Burma several times during his tenure
to co-ordinate the HIV/AIDS project.
A general discussion to eliminate some of the board of directors in
accordance with the Bylaws as they have not attended the meeting for at
least 2 years. New board members were chosen as regional
representatives.
- Canada: Dr. Alice Khin
- California: Dr. Min Soe
- Florida: Dr. Aung
Khin will contact his colleagues there for a candidate
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