Coverage and Skill Mix Balance of Human Resources for Health in Myanmar

The township health system in Myanmar is regarded as means to achieve the end of an equitable, efficient and effective health system based on the principles of primary health care approach. A township hospital caters medical care at the second referral level. Under the leadership and management of a Township Medical Officer in each township, para-professionals deployed at Rural Health Centers (RHCs) and Sub-centers under each RHC’s jurisdiction play key roles for providing primary health care services for rural population. There had been an expansion of township hospital beds, RHCs and Sub-centers during the past 15 years. However, whether the current HRH skill mix is appropriate and cost-effective for primary health care services in Myanmar’s rural areas need a proper review. In this paper we attempted to explore current distribution and balance of skill mix of selected categories township level HRH for effective coverage of essential health care services in rural areas. [abstract]