In a country where the government provides minimal general health care, citizens must take up the fight against HIV infection themselves... "A relatively prosperous transport hub for family-run trucking businesses, Kyaukpadaung?s high incidence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV/AIDS) among its population is a major downside to the township?s heavy dependence on the transportation industry. HIV/AIDS activist Phyu Phyu Thin with patients and volunteers at the National League for Democracy offce in Rangoon on World AIDS Day. (Photo: AFP) With the 1,500-meter peak of Mt Popa nearby bringing cooler breezes and water to an otherwise arid region of eastern Mandalay Division, Kyaukpadang?s location at a major crossroads near the geographical center of Burma favored the town?s development as a trucking center. With larger businesses operating up to 100 trucks, many of the town?s residents are employed in the industry, spending weeks at a time on the road. On Burma?s roads at night, teenage students are known to flag down trucks with flashlights, hitching rides and lifting skirts, passing from truck to truck, leaving sordid memories and sexually transmitted diseases. Even if the drivers are aware of the problem and want to protect themselves, condoms are often unavailable in rural stores dimly lit by oil-lamps, where snacks, tobacco and liquor are sold along with the services of garishly made-up teenagers in a tin hut out back. As a result, when men return to their families in Kyaukpadaung, they often take HIV/AIDS with them..."