Introduction

Over fifty years of civil war in Burma has displaced hundreds of thousands of people. They have fled their homes, hidden for safety and faced forced relocation. Compounding their loss of homes and security is their lack of the basic human right to health. Those people who are living along the border and in the interior of the ethnic nationalities' area of Burma are severely affected.

The Back Pack Health Worker Team (BPHWT) has been providing primary health care in ethnic armed conflict areas and rural areas where access to healthcare is otherwise unavailable. The BPHWT provides a range of medical care, community health education and prevention, and maternal and child healthcare services to internally displaced persons in Burma. Doctors and health workers from the Karen, Karenni, and Mon States established the BPHWT in 1998.

At the beginning of establishing BPHWT, there were 32 backpack teams with 120 health workers. The number of Back Pack Teams has gradually increased. There are currently 70 teams with between 2 to 5 health workers in each team, who deliver a range of health care programs to a target population of 140,000 displaced people. The BPHWT aims to equip people with the skills and knowledge necessary to manage and address their own health problems, while working towards long-term sustainable development.