Health care logistics is a critical component of any health care system, ensuring the timely and efficient delivery of medical supplies and life-saving medications to those in need.¹ In Myanmar, a Southeast Asian country with a population of over 54 million, logistics plays a vital role to ensure that the health care needs of the people are met, particularly in the remote areas where over 80% of the population resides.

One of the primary challenges facing health care in Myanmar is poor infrastructure. Many of the road networks are poorly developed and some of the remote areas can only be accessed on foot or via boat. In such cases, delivering essential medicines, supplies and equipments along with providing quality health care services can be a daunting task. This leads to suboptimal utilization of modern medical services.² Standardized logistics plays a critical role in overcoming these challenges and bridging this gap by providing efficient and reliable transportation systems to deliver services to these underdeveloped areas and minimizing the disparity of access between urban and rural communities, with rural communities being severely underserved.

Another significant challenge is the shortage of trained health care workers and medical professionals. Myanmar has a high prevalence of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis (TB), malaria and human immuno­deficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), which require timely diagnosis and treatment. However, due to the shortage of trained health care workers and medical professionals, especially in rural areas, this creates a bottleneck in providing effective services.³ Health care logistics can help in addressing this challenge by providing a reliable supply chain for essential medicines and medical supplies, enabling health care workers to provide quality care to those patients.

Constantly changing government regulations have been a hurdle for the industry. It has become a tedious task for existing companies to predict which products will be approved for import. This has made it challenging to plan for future needs, resulting in shortages of critical products and price increases for available products. Resolving issues of this magnitude require a team of experienced logistics support who are able to communicate effectively with the regulators and make visible changes for their company.

In conclusion, health care logistics plays a huge role in Myanmar, mostly in ensuring access to health care services for people in the underdeveloped areas. A standardized logistics system can help to bridge the health care access gap and improve the overall health outcomes of the entire population. As Myanmar continues to develop its health care system,⁴ it is crucial for the government and other relevant stakeholders to invest in health care logistics to improve the overall health care system in the country.

REFERENCES

1. Kritchanchai D, Hoeur S, Engelseth P. Develop a strategy for improving healthcare logistics performance. Supply Chain Forum: An International Journal. 2018;19(1):55-69.
2. Schioldann E, Mahmood MA, Kyaw MM, Halliday D, Thwin KT, Chit NN, et al. Why snakebite patients in Myanmar seek traditional healers despite availability of biomedical care at hospitals? Community perspectives on reasons. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2018;12(2):e0006299.
3. Improving health care in Myanmar. Available at: https://borgenproject.org/healthcare-in-myanmar/. Last accessed March 15, 2023.
4. Han SM, Rahman MM, Rahman MS, Swe KT, Palmer M, Sakamoto H, et al. Progress towards universal health coverage in Myanmar: a national and subnational assessment. Lancet Glob Health. 2018;6(9):e989-97.