“A moderate lifestyle is the secret. See the doctors and seek their advice when you should – don’t delay and let the problem get worse. But, of course, prevention is better than cure and the best form of prevention is moderation – moderation in everything.”

“There is a vaccine against cervical cancer now available in Myanmar. If pubescent girls – and even girls from aged nine or 10 – are vaccinated in advance, before having sexual intercourse, the vaccine is 70 percent effective in protecting the girls from getting cervical cancer,”

“Rheumatic heart disease is the most common cardiovascular disease in children and young adults and remain a major health problem in Myanmar – just as it is in other developing countries,”

“Diet goes hand-in-hand with exercise. It’s an important factor, one that should be considered. Everyone should eat three healthy meals a day, with not more than two of these high in carbohydrates,”

This often occurs with meat products that are not stored or handled properly but he said overripe fruit and fruit contaminated by flies was also a problem and can lead to diarrhoea, typhoid and liver disease.

“I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on the earth. Whether I shall ever be better, I cannot tell.”

“Also, when there was an earthquake in Sri Lanka in 1979, I volunteered at a hospital there. The victims were obviously badly injured but there wasn’t so many. I’ve lived with these experiences my whole life but still I was shocked when I saw the damage after Cyclone Nargis.”

“Also, traditional medicine students need more practice and experience to ensure that our traditional medicines are improving, always getting better. The authorities should invite the traditional medicine experts, who have many years experience, to teach the students. This will help improve the industry,”

“Before any tests are performed, a qualified and responsible person from the hospital should consult with the patient and their family about how much money it will cost and what kind of test is really needed. This would have allowed us to at least estimate the total cost.”

“Repeated re-infectons will result in a painful form of permanent blidness when the eyelids turn inward, causing the eyelashes to scratch the cornea. Trachoma is passed on by hands, on clothing, or by flies that land on the face of the infected child,”

“You should see the dentist at least once a year if you cannot go twice a year. Most people in foreign countries already do that but in Myanmar there are few people who do. The important thing is to remember to go for a checkup even if you think nothing is wrong,”

DRINKING water is important for good health. When you were a kid in school, you learned each molecule of water is made up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. You may also have learned that it was great fun to fill up your squirt guns with water, at least until the principal caught you. What you may not have learned, however, was how much water you needed in order to be healthy.

“If we want to import a new brand of pharmaceutical or medical equipment, we must first of all send a sample of the drug to the FDA for testing. This may take up to one year, maybe longer. Only when we have FDA approval can the drugs be imported and distributed in the market,”

“I remember walking out of the building and feeling like I was walking on cushions. Apart from that I didn’t really notice any more benefits – but it was nice at the time.”

“If they feel a lot of pain during menstruation women should see a doctor because there may be blood in the ovary, which is called endometriosis. The blood can spread and increase in the ovary, possibly leading to cancer of the uterus,”

“Looking back over the past three or four years the rise in patients coming from Myanmar has grown steadily – by about 20-25 percent each year. From the approximately 120 nationalities that come to Raffles for admission and specialist consultations, Myanmar used to rank at the lower end of the top 20 nationals. But, at last count, they have now moved up to around 11th position,”

“When we previously had information talks and seminars regarding HIV and how it’s passed on, we had to hold separate forums for men and women because most of the people were too shy. But now we’re able to hold these talks with both men and women in the same room,”

JAPAN International Cooperation is leading the fight against three major diseases in Myanmar. The Myanmar Times’ Khin Myat met with JICA project leader and tuberculosis specialist, Mr Kosuke Okada, and malaria expert Mr Masatoshi Nakamura to ask about their activities.

“With type-2 diabetes, weight gain and physical inactivity cause the pancreas to produce insufficient amounts of insulin, which is needed to convert blood sugar for energy. So glucose builds up in the blood stream and excreted in the urine,”