A Year in Review: Reflections of 2020

What a year it has been! The unprecedented events of 2020 have led to the crisis of our generation and will undoubtedly impact us for years to come. Myanmar has been hit particularly hard in the past few months, and we’d be lying to ourselves if we believed that things will miraculously resolve themselves. In the face of faltering economies, social unrest, and widespread infection, we were and remain on shaky ground.

However, Sea Lion has a history of defying expectations. Since the onset of the pandemic in Myanmar, we have played a central role in the fight against COVID. By the end of 2020, we had supplied kyats 20-billion worth of COVID related Emergency Response Items (ERI) to needy COVID treatment centres and hospitals, quarantine centres, fever clinics, and testing stations through a long list of government, multilateral, bilateral, and local organizations, as well as uncountable individual well-wishers. To date, we have supplied 270,000 sets of protective coveralls, 1,800 powered air-purifying respirators (PAPR), half a million COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) kits, and much more. N Health Myanmar Laboratory, a subsidiary of Sea Lion Group, was the first private clinical lab to be granted permission to perform real-time Rt-PCR testing for COVID-19, heralding the dawn of public-private partnerships (PPP) in healthcare in Myanmar.

2020 has proven to be the most challenging year of our lifetimes. Instead of buckling under the pressure, we have successfully managed to make the best of the situation and made ourselves indispensable. It was through our foresight, good preparation, and proactivity that let us hit the ground running; it was hard work, dedication, and adaptability that kept us going through uncharted territory. These valuable lessons will enable us to remain progressive and come out better prepared and stronger in the future. If we retain our positive momentum into the new year and focus on serving our communities as one united front, our future is looking bright.

Thank you to our employees, patrons, and partners, as well as all of the healthcare workers putting their lives on the line to fight the pandemic. We salute you, and will remain steadfast in our support.

Have a Happy, Healthy, Peaceful, and Prosperous New Year.