Lord Darzi meets Suu Kyi to support healthcare reform in Burma

Lord Darzi, Aung San Suu Kyi and Thura Shwe Mann

Professor Lord Ara Darzi met with Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday.

They discussed plans to upgrade Yangon General Hospital and local health services.

Lord Darzi, Director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London, was invited to Burma to give advice on renovating the 1500-bed hospital in the capital. Ms Suu Kyi asked Lord Darzi to produce recommendations and provide ongoing advice on this project and has invited him back to Burma to discuss reform of the wider Burmese health system. 

The meeting was also attended by the Speaker of the Lower House, Thura Shwe Mann, as well as senior health leaders and hospital staff.

In his opening remarks, Lord Darzi said: "It is a great honour for me to have been invited here today by Aung San Suu Kyi to help support this important project. Reinvigorating one of Rangoon's oldest hospitals and transforming the services it delivers will make a real impact for the people of this city."

The meeting followed a high-profile fundraising event last weekend during which Ms Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party said it had raised 400 million kyats (US$460,000) for the hospital’s renovation. Ms Suu Kyi said Yangon General Hospital remained the best in the country and its renovation would raise the standard of healthcare and set a benchmark for other hospitals.

Lord Darzi added: "Continually modernising our health services is a challenge faced by health systems across the globe as our patients rightly demand the best possible care. In the UK we have many examples of successfully transforming Victorian buildings into modern hospitals that offer truly world-class and innovative services for their populations. The Institute of Global Health Innovation and other UK organisations look forward to actively supporting this important project in Burma."