Responding to infectious diseases in Burma and her border regions

While all agree that Burma's peoples are in urgent need of health interventions and greatly expanded efforts to control and mitigate infectious diseases, the debate about how best to deliver those interventions has also been polarized, and there have been few, if any, opportunities for those engaged in the many and varied efforts underway to meet, share their efforts and undertakings, and discuss the potential for comprehensive responses. Given the politicization of humanitarian and health efforts in this troubled country, it seemed prudent to engage the many entities involved in a scientific meeting, where the diseases of importance could be addressed by the best available science and public health program approaches, and where health care providers working in challenging political environments might meet in a shared spirit of professionalism, mutual respect, and tolerance.The conference was "off the record" to maximize the security of those most vulnerable, such as representatives of ethnic nationality health organizations whose political leaders have not signed cease-fire agreements with the ruling junta, and representatives from groups working under junta auspices in Burma proper, and so subject to surveillance, as is generally the case for Burmese professionals when they attend international meetings. Two exceptions were made to this rule: we agreed to a post-conference session with the press to share de-attributed outcomes with the lay media, and we offered to the speakers and participants that we would assist those interested in turning their talks into manuscripts for this special series in Conflict and Health. The papers presented here are among the core outcomes of the conference, and we are delighted to be able to present them to a wider audience.What have we learned from bringing together the many players involved in Burma's health crisis? First, there is no debate that Burma's health care system is facing enormous difficulties and is currently unable to