Traditional Myanmar rice style hurts older people 30 Sep 2008 07:18:00 GMT

Written by: HelpAge International
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Retired doctor Maung Maung Shien, 75, reports on working with HelpAge International in Kyaik Lat and Dedaye townships on the Irrawaddy Delta after it was devastated by a cyclone in May. HelpAge is the only international agency providing health care services tailored to the needs of older people in these areas.

The sun has not yet risen as we begin loading boxes of medicines from the office in Yangon out into the car. Alongside me are four nurses, four junior doctors and Dr. Aung Thu, an old colleague who invited me to join HelpAge International's mobile medical units after Cyclone Nargis struck.

Being an older person myself, I find I can communicate better with the older patients. I also know that older people have knowledge, wisdom and experience, and are an underused resource in the relief effort.

It takes over six hours to reach the township. When we arrive, it's no surprise to find over 150 patients sat waiting in a queue outside the small hall where our clinic is held. The numbers are growing with each visit. In this area, the government provides only one health assistant, one nurse and five midwives. It's nowhere near enough, and certainly not sufficient to meet the specific needs that older people have.


Before Nargis, older people here were already living in extremely deprived conditions with limited access to healthcare, shelter, clean water and sanitation. The cyclone has compounded this situation further. Our surveys have shown that 98 per cent of older people in this area are experiencing significant illness.

Over the course of the day, nearly all the older patients I see are suffering from peripheral neuritis, an inflammation of the nervous system causing pain and loss of sensation, which is linked to Vitamin B1 deficiency. Many older people wash rice too many times before cooking it, draining all the vitamins out. Education on cooking and other areas of health and hygiene must play an important role in any humanitarian work here.

I've dubbed one woman I see "The Iron Lady". She is very old and lives alone, yet every day she walks determinedly round the village selling household wares, earning just enough money to survive.

Seeing her reinstates my conviction that, although many are vulnerable, some older people are active and play an important role in their communities. A significant number are looking after orphaned grandchildren, sustaining themselves but also their extended families without any support.

Another patient is a blind older woman who, a colleague tells me, has been asking over the past few visits about the possibility of regaining her sight.

Eye treatment is a common health need for older people, and one which is extensively overlooked in the humanitarian effort.

On examination, I see only a small operation is needed. That evening I call an old friend who is an oculist at one of the eye hospitals in the southern part of Myanmar. He offers to conduct a free operation at the hospital. Now all we have to do is arrange travel and accommodation for this patient, who will need a couple of days to recover.
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