Nway Eint Chei, a medical doctor, served as a national UN Volunteer Immunization Officer with the UN Children’s Agency (UNICEF) in Myanmar where she supported the healthcare waste management system for environmental sustainability. In Myanmar, during the COVID vaccination programme generated millions of syringes and immunizations, and the issue of waste and hygiene were a focus for UNICEF.
To tackle infectious waste, the comprehensive healthcare waste management project was implemented in Myanmar, which provided health risk reduction to 8,105,310 beneficiaries. Nway Eint Chei was part of implementing the project. She gave technical inputs for comprehensive healthcare waste management training materials, monitored project progress, shared COVID-19 vaccination waste management knowledge, and prepared donor reports.
We partnered with 195 private health facilities in six states and regions of Myanmar. We introduced the use of needle cutters and provided technical support for locally appropriate recycling of disinfected recyclable medical waste.” -- Nway Eint Chei, national UN Volunteer Immunization Officer.
Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being is important to Nway. She advocated strengthening routine immunization programmes in the country and was part of the central-level routine immunization workshops.
Nway closely cooperated with the UNICEF team to translate the Pfizer vaccine management training curriculum and standard operating procedures. In addition, she contributed to the roll-out of the National COVID Vaccine Deployment Plan. She calculated vaccine forecasting for the Catch-up vaccination programme along with the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization.
She adds, "Vaccination and immunization, one of the most cost-effective public health interventions, is notably important due to the emergence of virulent agents such as COVID-19. During the pandemic, I was the focal point for providing vaccination services to 5,843 UN and its partners’ staff in Yangon under the UN-led COVID-19 vaccination programme."
Dr. Tin Htut, a Health Specialist at UNICEF Myanmar extols Nway for her strong interpersonal skills and describes her as knowledgeable, qualified, and experienced in providing health services in complex contexts.
Dr. Nway Eint Chei helped UNICEF Myanmar to ensure the overall revitalization of immunization service delivery as part of the central immunization team, and COVID-19 vaccination for UN staff. She also contributed to the healthcare waste management improvement activities and promotion of recycling of recyclable waste generated through healthcare service delivery for ethnic health organizations." -- Dr. Tin Htut, UNICEF Myanmar.
Nway also incorporated wellness messages in the UN Migration (IOM)-led capacity-building training for quarantine center management staff and volunteers in Myanmar. Her belief that volunteers are the heart of humanity resonates loud and clear and is evident in her valuable contribution to UNICEF's mandate in Myanmar.
Dr. Nway Eint Chei (second from right), a national UN Volunteer Immunization Officer with UNICEF Myanmar joins the International Volunteer Day celebration in Yangon, Myanmar. ©UNV Myanmar 2022.