Myanmar Orphans

Welcome To Myanmar Orphans

Tanintharyi Region; formerly Tenasserim Division and subsequently Tanintharyi Division, is an administrative region of Myanmar, covering the long narrow southern part of the country on the Kra Isthmus. It borders the Andaman Sea to the west and the Tenasserim Hills, beyond which lies Thailand, to the east. To the north is the Mon State.

There are many islands off the coast, the large Mergui Archipelago in the southern and central coastal areas and the smaller Moscos Islands off the northern shores. The capital of the division is Dawei (Tavoy). Other important cities are Myeik (Mergui) and Kawthaung. The division covers an area of 43,328 km², and had an estimated population of 1,455,000 in 2002. Tanintharyi Region comprises ten townships spread over three districts--Dawei, Myeik and Kawthoung. A rail service runs from Rangoon twice every week.

The general state of health care in Myanmar is poor. The military government spends anywhere from 0.5% to 3% of the country's GDP on health care, consistently ranking among the lowest in the world. Although health care is nominally free, in reality, patients have to pay for medicine and treatment, even in public clinics and hospitals. Public hospitals lack many of the basic facilities and equipment. Moreover, the health care infrastructure outside of Yangon and Mandalay is extremely poor. In 2003, the entire Tanintharyi Region had less fewer hospital beds than the Yangon General Hospital. The following is a summary of the public health care system.