[ti:Groups Warn of Health Needs in Burma] [ar:Jim Tedder] [al:Health Report] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]This is the VOA Special English Health Report. [00:03.86]In the past year, [00:05.70]Burma has opened its political system [00:08.89]and reached cease-fire agreements [00:11.82]with some ethnic militias. [00:13.91]The government has also eased media restrictions. [00:18.09]But many aid groups say [00:20.93]their jobs have not gotten any easier. [00:23.96]Health workers are warning about the spread of [00:27.96]a form of drug-resistant malaria. [00:30.80]The malaria is resistant to treatment with artemisinin. [00:35.63]It was first seen several years ago in Cambodia. [00:40.61]Frank Smithuis started a group [00:45.03]called Medical Action Myanmar. [00:48.32]He says even with the recent political openings, [00:52.15]aid organizations still find it difficult [00:55.88]to gain access to areas most in need of aid. [01:00.61]This is true, he says, especially in areas torn [01:05.67]by many years of conflict along Burma's eastern border. [01:10.15]FRANK SMITHUIS: "There are now very good opportunities [01:12.98]because of the cease-fire agreements [01:15.22]with the Karen and the Mon. [01:16.82]Larger areas should now be open [01:19.10]for access to a joint activity [01:22.64]to stop this artemisinin resistance spread. [01:26.03]However that has not happened yet [01:27.76]and we definitely need to have more openness [01:31.15]and more activity and more international donor money. [01:34.93]And that's very, very important." [01:36.48]In the past, many nongovernmental organizations [01:40.26]simply worked without official approval. [01:44.20]Lower-level government officials largely ignored [01:49.17]organizations that did not follow the rules. [01:52.66]Until two thousand nine, [01:56.20]just three international nongovernmental aid organizations [02:01.63]had the required approvals to operate inside Burma. [02:06.96]Yet more than one hundred were operating there. [02:11.24]Many were able to get a memorandum of understanding [02:15.62]that allowed them to work without an official registration. [02:20.84]But then came the recent political changes. [02:24.48]Heads of aid organizations say lower-level officials [02:29.85]are now unclear about their powers and responsibilities. [02:34.63]In many cases they are enforcing the requirements more closely. [02:40.26]Save the Children is an aid organization [02:44.24]whose work is mostly related to mother [02:47.44]and child health in Burma. [02:49.98]Kelland Stevenson with Save the Children says, [02:54.55]in general, ministries and government workers [02:58.48]have become much more cooperative. [03:01.71]He agrees with those who say the barriers [03:05.14]that humanitarian workers now face are largely bureaucratic. [03:11.38]KELLAND STEVENSON: "It shouldn't be a political discussion. [03:13.28]There remains a bit of command and control from government, [03:16.31]and it's not going to open up overnight. [03:18.15]And the discussion about getting access to new areas is under way. [03:21.84]You have to remember these changes [03:24.37]have been extraordinarily dramatic in such a short time. [03:27.42]I mean, we're talking a year." [03:28.91]Kelland Stevenson says "things are changing so quickly." [03:32.50]Still, aid groups warn that some issues [03:36.48]-- such as the drug-resistant malaria -- may only get worse [03:41.06]unless the government also takes action quickly. [03:45.24]And that's the VOA Special English Health Report. [03:49.37]For more health news for people learning English, [03:52.96]go to 51voa.com. [03:57.33]I'm Jim Tedder.