Kalay town is more than one thousand years old and over a hundred thousand people are living in it. It is situated in the North-Western part of Myanmar and about 700 miles from Yangon, the Capital. Kalay township is about 950 sq miles in area and more than a quarter-million people living in it. There are two government public hospitals—200 bed general hospital and 16 bed station hospital. To support this hospitals there are 5 Rural Health Centres (RHC). There are 6 private hospitals and Wesley Hospital is among others.
Kalay town is situated in a valley which connects the Chin State to central Myanmar. The main means of transport to and from central Myanmar is by car on rough and dusty roads and by steamer. Government and private airlines both operate three days in a week.
About 60-75% of people in the area are farmers and farm labourers. Majority of the people could not nor do not make full use of existing health facilities due to various reasons. Among other reasons are due to ignorance, poverty and their poorly informed situation.
Main health problems of the area are malaria, tuberculosis, acute respiratory infections, enteric fevers, anaemia, diarrhoea, HIV/AIDS, miscarriages, STIs etc. and road accidents. Incidence of neonatal tetanus, whooping cough, diphtheria and measles are decreasing year after years due to universal childhood immunization programme that has been launched in the area since 1989. No more poliomyelitis cases have been reported since 10 years back.