ABSTRACT
World Health Organization member countries endorsed a resolution to provide universal health coverage as early as in 2005. But very few low-income countries have come close to achieving the objective. The health status of Myanmar's older persons (OPs) has been mapped out by utilising different health parameters such as self-rated health status, self-reported systems, prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), disability and functional limitations and risk behaviours. In a population with lower levels of awareness and recognition of ailments and diseases, self-reporting of specific symptoms related to illnesses would be a useful indicator of poor health and undiagnosed diseases. Once known as "diseases of affluence", the NCDs are no longer a problem only in the wealthy countries. Mobility limitations are often the early sign of subsequent functional decline among OPs. The respondents of the survey were asked whether or not they had difficulty moving around by themselves.
