The Karen, an ethnic minority, endure brutality from the Burmese army. Their villages are burned, crops destroyed, and other violence inflicted. Over 500,000 are hiding in the jungles where malaria and malnutrition are the leading killers. Others are forced to provide slave labor and are used to clear landmines, receive sub-standard food, and poor shelter.

The BURMA HUMANITARIAN MISSION (BHM) reduces this suffering by training and securing medicines for backpack medic teams. They hike into Eastern Burma to provide emergency trauma and community health care to villagers seeking refuge in the jungles. The medics focus on preventing diseases and illnesses such as malaria, dysentery, worms, and acute respiratory illnesses while promoting a healthier population, especially among infants, women, and children. Through the efforts of BHM, deaths from malaria have dropped by 48% and dysentery by 51%. Last year, BHM medics treated over 28,000 people.