Population & Reproductive Health Situation in Myanmar

The population of Myanmar is about 55.4 million with an annual growth rate of 2.02 percent and a population density of 82 persons per square kilometer. Young people, aged 10-24 years, constitute approximately 20 percent of the total population.

According to the Fertility and Reproductive Health Survey conducted by Department of Population and UNFPA in 2001, the total fertility rate for Myanmar as a whole is 2.4 births per women. This low total fertility rate is most probably due to the high proportion of never married women. The percentage of the never married women aged 15-49 is 45.4% in 2001. The National Maternal Mortality survey conducted by Central Statistical Organization in 1999 revealed that maternal mortality ratio is 255 per 100,000 live births. This would account for toatal estimated number of maternal deaths of 3,720 per year.

The major reasons for maternal deaths are haemorrhage, infection, unsafe abortion, eclampsia and obstructed labour. The infant mortality rate is 69.5/100,000 live births (66.2 for urban and 70.4 for rural), the major cause of death in infants and children is acute respiratory infection followed by malaria and diarrhoea. Social economic status is acknowledged to be one of the critical factors influencing maternal mortality. Others include health and reproductive health behavior and access to health services.

The contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) for married women of reproductive age has risen markedly from 16.8% in 1991, 32.7% in 1997 to 37% in 2001, modern methods accounting for 32.8%. The Fertility and Reproductive Health Survey (FRHS, 2001) showed that the most popular methods among current users are injectables(14.8%), pills (8.6%) and female sterilization (4.6%) followed by IUDs (1.8%), male sterilization (1.5%) and condoms (0.3%). The unmet need for contraception is estimated at 16% among married women of reproductive age and could be higher if unmarried women were also included in the calculation. Without adequate and regular supplies of contraceptives, including condoms, and related commodities, neither the reproductive health including birth spacing nor HIV/AIDS prevention programmes can operate.

In the area of reproductive health, a key achievement was drafting of the National Reproductive Health Policy in collaboration with key stakeholders in mid 2001. The goal of the draft National RH policy is to attain better quality of life by improving reproductive health status of women and men, including adolescents and youth through effective and appropriate reproductive health programmes based on the life cycle approach. The policy still remains to be adopted by the National Health Committee.

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