WHAT WE DO

THE HEAD = THE HEADQUARTERS OF HEALTH.

The brain is the headquarters of the body. If the brain is not well, the body is not well. Brain health defines our wellbeing, be it in the realm of our cognitive, sensory, emotional or behavioural domains. The brain allows us to realize our full potential, adapt to stress, and respond to adversity. This is why we focus on enhancing the long-term, high-quality treatment of the brain.

To enhance holistic brain health, we:

  1. Train the next generation of nurses, doctors, and neurosurgeons

  2. Strengthen the capacity of medical facilities in and beyond major cities

  3. Enhance access to medical expertise in remote areas.

Our central focus is ensuring specialized treatment for children.

The below pages introduce our plans ahead. We hope you will partner with us in ensuring that our peers in Myanmar have what they need to treat the people in need.

OUR CONTEXT

In 2025, Myanmar ranked 150th of the 193 countries listed in the Human Development Index, measuring life quality and expectancy, access to knowledge, and standards of living. For the first half of 2024, Myanmar was the second most conflict-ridden country globally and the fourth most dangerous country for civilians. Since the military coup in 2021, more than 40% of the population has been exposed to conflict.

The detrimental effects of ongoing violence saw a drastic aggravation in 2025, when a devastating earthquake hit the north of the country, reducing critical infrastructure to rubble and severely impacting already vulnerable communities.

The ongoing violence combined with the earthquake has had devastating consequences on the healthcare of Myanmar on multiple, compounding levels:

  • The ongoing violence has resulted in a surge in injuries, straining an already depleted healthcare system. In 2024, Myanmar became the world’s deadliest country for landmine and unexploded ordnance casualties, with children representing a fourth of casualties. Even if the war stopped today, injuries will be treated for decades.

  • As medical needs have grown, the ability to treat patients has plummeted. Since the coup, human rights groups have recorded more than 1’500 incidents of violence against the provision of health care, coupled with the use of health care facilities for military purposes. The earthquake in March 2025 caused further damage to medical infrastructure, especially in Mandalay, the second-largest city in the country. Even if the experts to treat patients are there, the facilities and safety to do so are not.

  • Ongoing attacks have forced healthcare providers to flee and brought medical education programs to a standstill. The lack of doctors and the halting of training programmes risks widening the already wide gap between the number of patients and doctors able to treat them. The impact of the educational impasse will be felt for years.

In light of the ongoing situation, we work to enable long-term, sustained change. We do this by expanding healthcare infrastructure, providing specialized training in cities and remote areas, as well as supporting innovative means to enhance access between medical professionals and patients.

ONGOING PROJECTS

Fellowship Program for the Next Generation of Health Specialists

Since 2019, our collaborations with the university hospitals in Bern and Lugano have supported the professional growth and specialization of surgeons, anaesthesiologists, and scrub nurses from Myanmar. Hosting approximately 5 fellows from partner university hospitals in Mandalay and Yangon, the programme is based on a training-of-trainers approach, ensuring the further leveraging of the knowledge and experiences gathered in Switzerland.

Educational Missions to Support Treatment and Enhance Access

Each year together with our partners in Myanmar, we roll out educational missions implemented both in university hospitals and remote areas across Myanmar. Working as a team, the missions provide medical assistance where it is most urgently needed, as well as providing learning opportunities for experts. Due to ongoing hostilities, the missions address the critical gaps created by travel restrictions and accessibility issues. 

Expanding and Building Medical Infrastructure

Even if specialized treatment exists, it falls short of its full potential without adequate treatment facilities and instruments. Access to specialized treatment facilities is of particular importance to areas with ongoing violence and cut off from major healthcare centres. in order to ensure access to treatment in hard-to-reach areas, we partner with rural hospitals and medical organizations to enhance their treatment capacities by refurbishing surgeries, equipping hospitals with basic equipment, or joining in on projects establishing new wards, units, or treatment facilities.

Rooting Medical Education to Remote Areas

International help can be deployed for emergencies, yet once missions are completed, the status quo prevails. To enable sustained change, we strengthen the establishment of sustainable means to enhance the availability and quality of medical expertise. We do this by way of supporting and financing medical schools in locations where they can render significant impact.

Nowhere is the lack of experts as severe as in remote areas and in the field of paediatrics. To address the issue, we, for example, have contributed to the setting up of the first medical and nursing school in Kachin State and now aim to scale up operations with a focus on the treatment of children.

EMERGING PROJECTS

Setting Up a Paediatric Neurosurgery Unit in Yangon

Children are affected by various, development-specific neurological diseases, such as naso-meningocelles, spina bifida, and post-natal hydrocephalus. Due to their unique needs, the effective treatment of children relies on specialized infrastructure and know-how.

As it stands, children in Myanmar are treated within regular neurosurgery programs, and no specialized paediatrics unit for neurosurgery exists. To enable change, we are accompanying our partners at the medical University of Yangon as they are exploring the feasibility of a dedicated unit for paediatric neurosurgery capable of providing medical attention to children and adolescents suffering from widespread malformations, illness, and trauma.

Establishing the First Stroke Center in Myanmar

A stroke is the medical emergency that occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is interrupted, preventing brain tissue from getting the oxygen it needs. Brain cells die within minutes, meaning that immediate treatment is critical to prevent disabilities and save lives. As it stands, strokes are among the leading causes of death worldwide - including in Myanmar. Yet, unlike in most parts of the world, no specialized treatment exists in the country.

In order to change the status quo, we have focused on stroke treatment during our fellowship programs in Switzerland and are exploring opportunities to root and expand the knowledge in Myanmar.