For exactly five years now, bloody fighting has been raging in Myanmar , and there seems to be no end in sight. Chinese support for the junta plays a major role in the current balance of power. From January 28 to January 25, the junta held elections in three stages in the areas it controls, but important opposition parties were excluded from these elections, while others boycotted them. According to the UN, more than 400 air strikes were carried out by the army during the weeks of the election. "The military is trying to consolidate its rule through violence after forcing people to the ballot box," criticized UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Türk. The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party declared itself the winner on Sunday, even though the UN and several Western governments have called the elections "fake."

The past weeks and months have been fraught with difficulties for our teams on the medical ships. Now we hope, along with them, that the "legitimization" of the new government will bring some calm and normality, so that the medical teams can continue their important work for the benefit of the population without constant checks and bureaucratic hurdles! A population that is living in ever-increasing poverty and for whom it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain and pay for adequate health care. This makes our medical ships all the more important for the people in the Irrawaddy River Delta.

The Swimming Doctors' MS Futura is currently in the shipyard for its annual maintenance and repair work so that it can resume its healthcare mission on March 1. The Polli of the Irrawaddy River Doctors was already "completely renovated" in December and visits up to 16 villages in Bogale Township every month to provide the villagers with diagnostics, therapy, and medication. And at the mother-child center, four girls and four boys were born in a safe environment. 129 expectant or new mothers and babies were treated and received preventive or follow-up examinations.