Since the military seized power from Myanmar’s democratically-elected government on 1 February 2021, the country’s public healthcare system has been in disarray. Days after the military seized power on 1 February, medical staff walked out of their jobs, spearheading the civil disobedience movement that saw government employees of all stripes go on strike. Most have not returned. Those on strike who continue to practice in underground clinics risk being attacked and detained by the authorities. When the beleaguered public healthcare system met with a far-reaching and devastating COVID-19 outbreak earlier this year, hospitals were quickly overwhelmed. Beds in hospitals were often impossible to come by and untold numbers of people were scrambling around towns and cities in Myanmar to source their own supplies of oxygen to administer at home. Crematoriums could not process the bodies fast enough. Routine consultations, surgeries and vaccinations were cancelled while the skeleton medical workforce responded to the outbreak. Panic buying led to empty shelves in pharmacies. Myanmar’s Ministry of Health counts nearly 20,000-recorded deaths from COVID-19 up to the end of 2021 – the fourth highest mortality rate in south-east Asia. But this figure is misleading – only counting people who died in hospitals. Countless individuals were passing away in their homes while facilities were full – we know because some of these deaths were happening in our communities and among our team’s families, and they did not make it into the official figures. In response, MSF opened three independent COVID-19 treatment centres to receive patients with moderate to severe symptoms in Myanmar’s biggest city Yangon, and Kachin state’s Myitkyina and Hpakant townships. These photos are from Myitkyina.