Myanmar Medical Journal is the sole scientific journal that is currently published by the Myanmar Medical Association. This journal was first published by the name of Burma Medical Journal by the Burma Medical Association during the early part of 20th century under the British colonial rule. The Burma Medical Association was formed during the above mentioned period by a group of medical practitioners most of whom were in private practice or working as medical officers in large private companies. At the time of the Second World War its publication came to a halt. After Burma gained independence in 1948, the Burma Medical Association was reestablished in 1949 with Dr. A. Ba Thaw as its president. The membership of the Burma Medical Association expanded to include other medical professionals from Government Boards, Government Medical Services, doctors from various foreign missions and large business corporations in addition to private medical practitioners who were the core founders of this association. As a result of this inclusiveness, the Burma Medical Association became more representative of the entire medical profession in the country. One of the first tasks carried out by the newly established Burma Medical Association was to re-launch the Burma Medical Journal. The first issue of the resurgent Burma Medical Journal was published in May/June of 1953 with Dr. R.S. Grewal as its editor. A message was sent to the Burma Medical Journal from the first Honorable Prime Minister of the Union of Burma U Nu expressing his delight to see the revival of the Journal and wished success to the enterprise.
Since 1953, the Burma Medical Journal has been published quarterly each year. However, there were breaks in its publication during some years due to administrative problems. The journal was renamed as Myanmar Medical Journal in 1989 when the country changed its name from Burma to Myanmar. The Myanmar Medical Association is giving great importance to the publication of this journal and has allocated resources to ensure that this publication is sustained.
The aim of the journal is to foster and promote the advancement of scientific and medical knowledge amongst members of the medical profession in the country. The Journal is a peer reviewed journal that is published quarterly. It can be freely accessed (open access) online at the Myanmar Medical Association’s web site www.mmacentral.org Printed copies of the journal are also available and they are being distributed gratis to the members, various departments in the medical colleges, medical libraries and departments under the Ministry of Health and Sports.
The Myanmar Medical Journal’s aims are as follows:
It is instituted mainly for the purpose of advancing medical science and to serve as one of the main forums for publishing original research papers in the field of medicine and health in Myanmar, hence possible source of reference for domestic health events.
The journal also aims to serve as a medium for “continuing medical education” for medical practitioners.
Being the official publication of the Myanmar Medical Association, the journal functions as forum to disseminate views on health issues and to promote discussions in order to improve health care services in the country.
