"...Some 215,000 people were living with HIV/AIDS in Myanmar in 2011, of whom around 120,000 need lifesaving antiretroviral treatment (ART), which can also prevent the spread of HIV, according to the U.N. agency UNAIDS. But only 40,000 are receiving ART. The World Health Organization (WHO) says anyone with a CD4 count lower than 350 should get ART. Yet a severe lack of resources means MSF only treats those with a CD4 count below 150 in Myanmar. The aid group has close to 20 clinics around the country, and provides the lion?s share of ART in the southeast Asian nation. Nafis Sadik, the U.N. special envoy on HIV/AIDS for Asia Pacific, underlined the fact that only a third of people who need ART in Myanmar are getting it at a time when there is a new global push to treat all HIV-positive patients regardless of their CD4 count. ?The evidence is that the earlier you start, the more protected they are, the less infectious they are,” Dr Sadik told AlertNet during her recent visit to Myanmar. ?And like other diseases, if you give treatment early, the survival rates are much higher.” ?There are still 18,000 people who die every year of AIDS-related diseases in Myanmar,” she added..."