Safeguarding each citizen’s health is tantamount to safeguarding a family’s future.
In a major milestone for Myanmar’s public healthcare sector, the Ministry of Health formally commissioned newly graduated medical doctors and dental surgeons as gazetted civil service officers during an appointment ceremony held yesterday morning at the Myanmar Convention Centre (MCC) in Yangon. President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar U Min Aung Hlaing attended the event and delivered an address outlining national healthcare objectives, professional ethics, and the strategic expansion of medical human resources.
The ceremony brought together a broad assembly of senior government officials, health leaders, and educators. Attendees included Union Ministers U Khin Maung Yi, U Mya Tun Oo, Dr Soe Win, Dr Thet Thet Zin, U Min Naung, U Ko Ko Lwin, Dr Charlie Than, and U Myo Thant; Chairman of the Union Civil Service Board U Tin Maung Win; the Chief Minister of Yangon Region; senior military officers from the Office of the Commander-in-Chief; deputy ministers; former ministers of health; presidents of the Myanmar Medical Council and the Myanmar Dental Council; as well as rectors, pro-rectors, professors, and faculty members from medical and allied universities under the Ministry of Health.
Upon his arrival at the Myanmar Convention Centre, the President was warmly welcomed by Union Minister for Health Dr Soe Win and healthcare personnel. The event commenced with an opening musical presentation entitled “The Healing Hands” performed by staff from the Department of Public Health.
Addressing the gathering, the President stated that the commissioning ceremony represents an invigorating day for the Ministry of Health and an auspicious occasion for the entire nation. He remarked that having concluded their academic training and internship requirements, the newly appointed practitioners are stepping across an essential threshold into public service. He stressed that the appointment letters they receive are not merely routine administrative documentation confirming employment, but an emblem of the profound sacred trust placed in their hands by the State and the public. He urged all appointees to honour that trust by dedicating their knowledge, time, energy, and goodwill to safeguarding community health.
Reiterating national healthcare priorities, the President underscored the government’s guiding principle that “nothing is more important than human life.” He affirmed that universal public health is a foundational prerequisite for building a modern, developed democratic nation. To ensure that equitable, accessible healthcare reaches every citizen across both urban and rural areas—regardless of socio-economic standing—the state is steadily executing the policy that “wherever there is a hospital, there must be a doctor.” He pointed out that while Myanmar’s average life expectancy currently stands at 69 years, the government has set an ambitious target to raise this figure beyond 70 years by 2030 through sustained institutional support and expanded clinical coverage.
Highlighting financial commitments, the President stated that national healthcare expenditures have increased significantly over the years. From approximately 1.5 per cent of total state expenditures in 2000, healthcare funding has been elevated to 2.8 per cent in the 2026-2027 financial year, exceeding K1,391 billion, with continued state budget allocations planned annually to reinforce the sector.
Discussing medical education and human resource capacity, he pointed out that skilled manpower is the engine of the national healthcare mechanism. The opening of the Faculty of Medicine at Naypyitaw State Academy in 2023 expanded the nation’s training infrastructure to six medical universities and 11 allied medical universities, totalling 17 institutions. Concurrently, medical curricula have been aligned with international standards through outcome-based, integrated learning frameworks that incorporate inter-professional education and interdisciplinary teamwork. He noted that comprehensive five-, ten-, and fifteen-year human resource development roadmaps are being executed to meet staffing needs across regional, state, district, township, and station hospitals, while the government continues to attend to accommodation, administration, welfare, and allowances for medical personnel.
The direct appointment system, he noted, was arranged so that fresh medical graduates could promptly fill vacancies at public hospitals immediately following the completion of their internships. He recalled that in July 2025, a total of 1,276 doctors and 23 dental surgeons were similarly appointed and are currently discharging their duties across various regions while preparing for their postgraduate entrance examinations.
Guiding the inductees on professional conduct, the President urged them to pursue both technical excellence and moral integrity. As gazetted civil servants, they will undergo subsequent administrative and leadership training at the Civil Service Academies to cultivate perseverance, endurance, resilience, tolerance, and institutional discipline. He highlighted the necessity of honesty, accountability, regulatory compliance, and public respect, reminding them that their individual actions reflect directly on the dignity of the Ministry of Health. Hospital-level orientation programmes covering civil service laws, rules, and procedures will be provided accordingly.
He advised the doctors to place patients at the centre of their practice, treating them with empathy and familial goodwill as if caring for their own parents and siblings. Emphasizing that safeguarding the health of each individual citizen is tantamount to safeguarding the future of a family, he called on them to actively listen to patients, communicate diagnoses and care plans transparently with relatives, strictly preserve medical confidentiality, and respect human dignity at all times.
Given the dynamic pace of modern medical science, the President underscored the lifelong necessity of continuous education, wide reading, clinical review, and research. He encouraged the physicians to pursue master’s degrees, doctorates, and specialized clinical fields to match regional standards, while urging them to explore emerging frontiers including artificial intelligence in clinical medicine, digital health platforms, and telemedicine services.
Following his address, the President personally presented letters of appointment to representatives of each medical university, after which a newly appointed doctor delivered a message of gratitude on behalf of the inductees.
The attendees subsequently viewed a documentary screening illustrating the Ministry of Health’s ongoing initiatives toward longevity and disease prevention. The proceedings concluded with a choral performance titled “The Land of Blood Brethren” by students of the University of Medicine 1 (Yangon), after which the President presented fruit baskets and cash awards to the performers before cordially greeting attendees. — MNA/ST
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