Chairman of State Administration Council Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Senior General Min Aung Hlaing addresses 75th Anniversary Diamond Jubilee Military Medical Corps Day

NAY PYI TAW October 1

The 75th Anniversary Diamond Jubilee Military Medical Corps Day was held at Convocation Hall of Defence Services Nursing and Paramedical Academy (DSNPA) in Yangon this morning, attended by Chairman of State Administration Council Commander-in-Chiefof Defence Services Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.

Also present at the ceremony together with the Senior General were Chief of General Staff (Army, Navy and Air) General Maung Maung Aye, Commander-in-Chief(Navy)Admiral Moe Aung, senior military officers from the Office of the Commander-in-Chief, Union Minister for Health Dr Thet Khaing Win, Yangon Region Chief Minister U Soe Thein, Yangon Command Commander Maj-Gen Nyunt Win Swe, Mayor U Bo Htay and officials, retired senior officers of the medical corps, members of the medical corps, officials of Ministry of Health, and chairmen of Myanmar Medical Council and Myanmar Physicians Association.

 

Lt-Gen Thet Pon from the Office of the Commander-in-Chief (Army), Quartermaster-General Lt-Gen Kyaw Swa Lin and Yangon Command Commander Maj-Gen Nyunt Win Swe formally opened the ceremony. The Senior General unveiled the signboard by pushing the button. Then he posed for documentary photos together with the attendees.

In his address, the Senior General said today is the 75th Anniversary Diamond Jubilee of Defence Services Medical Corps, an institution with fine historical traditions and was established during the independence struggle. It is an honorable day for the corps that has preserved and relayed the fine traditions.

Myanmar which was about to regain independence under the Aung San-Atlee Agreement needed a medical corps in the early pre-independence era.

 

Myanmar established the Directorate of Medical Services on 1 October 1947 and the day has been marked as the Medical Corps Day. From the day of its establishment, the age of the corps reached 75 years today.

It is an honourable and significant day.

History stands witness to the brilliant endeavours of the corps throughout the independence struggle and its dutiful services for the country.

Members of the corps proved their dutifulness and courage in many operations and battles of the Tatmadaw including the battle of Insein and Kunmington intrusion. The corps brought about many outstanding and gallant persons like Capt Thura Mon Htaw Thet Nyunt all along the history.

 

In addition to its battle field duties, the corps is providing healthcare and treatment services to officers, other ranks and families and local people at the military hospitals.

The MH upgrading program covers four hospitals that can conduct kidney transplant surgery, one hospital that can conduct liver transplant surgery, four hospitals that can conduct cardiovascular diagnosis and vascular dilation, two hospitals that can conduct heart surgery, and three hospitals that can cure cancer with radio therapy.

Thanks to the upgrading program, Tatmadaw can now provide advanced international-level treatments including heart and brain surgery, stent surgery, pacemaker surgery,kidney transplant surgery, thoracic surgery. The recent first successful liver transplant surgery stands as a historical milestone of the corps.

 

Due to those undertakings, Tatmadaw now has no unreachable place and it can almost cure any kind of disease in its healthcare services. These developments are the results of the efforts of the members of the corps and the legacy they left behind. They are indeed admirable. The corps has been striving to bring about doctors and nurses for health care services since the nation regain independence. The most obvious achievement is the establishment of the medical bureau and training unit in 1952 to provide training for the members of the corps of the entire Tatmadaw. For many years, it provided training services as the central medical unit and was reestablished as Defence Services Medical School in 2015.

It has striven to produce doctors and nurses throughout the successive eras. It opened first batch of the Nurses Training Wing in 1959 to bring about nurses skilled in medical science and military science and it continued till the 16th batch. It also opened the National Service (Medical Officer).

In this way it has been providing human resources through various means and since 1990 it had implemented the different stages till it could open the DSNPA to nurture new generation youths.

Nurturing the younger generation means producing human resources crucial for building standard army. It can also contribute much towards public healthcare services. I strongly believe that medical corps trained by the Defence Services Medical Academy and the Defence Services Institute of Nursing and Paramedical Science will be shouldering thier future duties.

The Tatmadaw medical corps took the forefront in participating in the healthcare of the people including the Tatmadaw members not only on usual occasions but also in times of emergency. Particularly, they worked hard in accord with the motto “Goodwill and lovingkindness mitigate harm and sufferings,” for the healthcare and rehabilitation of the people after cyclone Nagis, cyclone Giri, Talay quake and floods caused heavy rains.

One of their significances is that they worked selfless for the health of the local people wherever they were assigned.

As they served at hospitals and medical battalions for the local people, they also sped up giving medical treatment in mobile teams after 2010.

Treatments were provided after 67 military hospitals and battalions and 54 COVID-19 centres. Till 15 September this year, healthcare services were provided for 1,505 monks, 108 nuns, 16,054 civilians and 135 foreigners totalling 17,802. It was also heartening to see some members of medical corps handed over according to the needs of the Ministry of Health and other ministries.

They are trying to uplift thier skills and technologies in cooperation with the international community. As such, they are cooperating with international organizations including ASEAN. They attended International Conference of Military Medical Schools – ICMMS and International Committee of Military Medicine-ICMM to catch up with the paramedical science development of the international community.

To strengthen friendship with international medical corps, they had participated in the medical corps skills contests since 2018. Myanmar’s medical rally stood fourth among 16 participating countries in the medical corps skills contest of International Army Game held in Russia 2022, bringing honour to the State.

In accord with the motto “Stay fit and healthy to fight”, the medical corps must be the corps always staying fit and healthy and capable to fight.

They are also responsible for giving perfect or enough healthcare to Tatmadaw members as well as their families. In the diamond jubilee period, 772 secured Tatmadaw golden jubilee medals and 2,603 diamond jubilee medals. Moreover,

in the medical crops, 152 members secured national level outstanding awards including Naing Ngan Gonye, Independence Mawgun, Sithu, Zeya Kyawhtin, Wunna Kyawhtin and Theikpa Kyaw Swar titles.

Therefore, the commandant, specialists and nurses, as members of the medical corps, are praiseworthy and recognized for thier healthcare and treatment for Tatmadaw members and their families in 75 years.

Myanmar Tatmadaw’s medical corps has been born together with the Tatmadaw since independence struggles. In the successive periods, they have striven for the country, the people and the Tatmadaw.

Over the past 75 years, we have also witnessed that all those members of the medical corps have been able to serve their duties whenever assigned.

It is to make efforts to relay such good traditions to next generation, and I wish the Military Medical Corps more accomplished in carrying out public healthcare services and healthcare services of Tatmadaw men and families and continuing to exist for many years from its Diamond Jubilee Day onwards maintaining the Military Medical Corps that has marked the Diamond Jubilee as a strong, compact and valued military medical corps.

Afterwards, Director of Directorate of Medical Services Maj-Gen Ko Ko Lwin reported on the brief history of the Military Medical Corps, and a documentary video marking the Diamond Jubilee Day of the Military Medical Corps was shown. Then, military medical personnel presented a performance with a song in honour of marking the Diamond Jubilee Day of the Military Medical Corps. Next, the Director of the Directorate of Medical Services presented a gift marking the Diamond Jubilee Day of the Military Medical Corps to the Senior General.

Later, the Senior General cordially greeted the senior officers retired from Military Medical Corps and took a tour of the exhibition marking the Diamond Jubilee Day of Military Medical Corps.

This morning, the Senior General and party arrived at the ceremony to open a special treatment centre of the newly built 8-story building at No.1 Military Hospital marking the Diamond Jubilee Day of the Military Medical Corps.

The Senior General and party were welcomed by officials there. Then, Lt-Gen Thet Pon from the Office of the Commander-in-Chief (Army), Quartermaster-General Lt-Gen Kyaw Swa Lin and Commander of Yangon Command Maj-Gen Nyunt Win Swe formally opened the new centre.

Next, the Senior General formally unveiled the signboard of the new centre and had a group record photo taken.

The Commandant of No.1 Military Hospital reported on construction of the 8-story building of a special treatment centre. Regarding the report, the Senior General gave necessary instructions saying it is necessary to systematically use and maintain the new centre for its long-term existence.

It is necessary to carry out tasks to keep the hospital’s campus clean, make its ventilation system good, abandon waste items systematically, make sure that things used for patients will always be good, treat patients with systematically prepared meals, and make arrangements for comfortable accommodations of assigned health workers.

Then, the Senior General and guests were given gifts marking the opening of the centre by the Director of the Directorate of Medical Services.

The Senior General and party took a tour of the newly built special treatment centre and visited patients who received an operation for liver transplant on September 27 and 28 hailing the Diamond Jubilee Day of the Military Medical Corps which fell today. The Senior General gave rewards of honour to professors and medical officers of Tatmadaw who performed the liver transplant operation.

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