Abstract
The twenty-first Century Panglong Conference, proposed by Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy, has concluded with unsatisfactory results. This five-day conference attracted global attention and wide endorsements from the United Nations and many other key stakeholders. The broad framework of the peace dialogue included various social and economic issues. However, the implication of the conference on the health system strengthening efforts in ethnic areas was largely unknown. Although a “convergence model” was proposed by organizations in Thai-Myanmar borders as a roadmap for integrations of the national and ethnic health systems years ago, the genuine bottlenecks beneath have not been addressed. This commentary discussed the Panglong Conference and its implication for the health systems in ethnic regions, as well as the bottlenecks of a “peace process” in health sector. It outlined a few key steps to achieve health system convergence between national and ethnic health systems, the outcome of which will not only improve the health status of the ethnic regions, but also help strengthen mutual trust and understanding among peoples, as a powerful bridge for peace.
Highlights
The twenty-first Century Panglong Conference, proposed by Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy, has concluded with unsatisfactory results
Almost 70 years after the Panglong Agreement, the Myanmar government, parliament, tatmadaw and 17 ethnic armed organizations (EAO) agreed to establish a political dialogue for their national peace and reconciliation—a cornerstone twenty-first Century Panglong Conference proposed by Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy [1]
Health disparities in ethnic regions are a major result of the prolonged armed conflicts and a lack of economic development, which leads to a failure to develop or the collapse of local health systems
Summary
The twenty-first Century Panglong Conference, proposed by Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy, has concluded with unsatisfactory results. Almost 70 years after the Panglong Agreement, the Myanmar government, parliament, tatmadaw and 17 ethnic armed organizations (EAO) agreed to establish a political dialogue for their national peace and reconciliation—a cornerstone twenty-first Century Panglong Conference proposed by Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy [1].
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