Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Kat Lay Global health reporter

The Myanmar nurses dodging drones to graduate from a secret jungle school

Nursing students sit next to a bed in a basic wooden-framed room.
The degree, designed with the help of the UK’s Royal College of Nursing, uses lectures recorded by international academics alongside practical training. Photograph: supplied

It was a remarkable, but secretive, ceremony that took place earlier this week for a class of 21 students graduating with nursing degrees in Myanmar. Hidden away from the spy drones of the country’s military junta, and working around internet blackouts, the students had trained as part of an underground health system, which has been evolving in Myanmar since the coup in February 2021 crushed a pro-democracy uprising and ignited civil war.

“Safety is never guaranteed,” says Khun Sue Reh, 23, who on Monday was among the group graduating with the specially designed three-year nursing qualification.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.