HIV/AIDS - Burma/Myanmar

Also contains general material in Burmese or other languages of Burma
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Websites/Multiple Documents

Description: HIV/Health-related articles from 2008 to October 2016
Source/publisher: Various sources via "BurmaNet News"
Date of entry/update: 2012-04-18
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Source/publisher: AIDSdatahub
Date of entry/update: 2012-05-26
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: "HIV Information for Myanmar [him] is published in memory of Hla Htut Lwin - activist, coworker, and friend. There is a free email list service for anyone with email access and an interest in the response to HIV in Myanmar. Send an email to himhimhim at csloxinfo dot com if you want to become a new subscriber. You will receive one to three postings a day."
Source/publisher: him
Date of entry/update: 2006-04-20
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: Very useful page, with links to:- Agencies: * Myanmar Business Coalition on AIDS (2002 - )... Organisations: * Asian Development Bank (1966 - ) * Association of South-East Asian Nations (1967 - ) * Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (1965 - )... Related Government Agencies: * National AIDS Committee, Myanmar (1989 - )... Related Inter-Governmental Organisations: * Regional Office for South-East Asia, World Health Organization (1948 - )... Related Regions: * Asia-Pacific * Greater Mekong Subregion * South-East Asia..... as well as links to 50 or so online documents (full text) -- reports, agreements, plans, articles etc. from academics, institutes, governments, inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations...Most links work, but, as always, where a link is dead, copy the title and paste it into a Google search.
Source/publisher: HIV Policy.org
Date of entry/update: 2009-02-21
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Individual Documents

Description: "A Commentary by DPAG and TNI Gender norms affect everyone: people of all genders and ages, people in urban and rural areas, people with high-paying and low-paying jobs, people who use or do not use drugs, as well as people living with health statuses of all kinds. Paired with one’s socioeconomic backgrounds, gender norms and inequalities come in different shapes and sizes, and so do visions of gender justice. As part of our exciting journey exploring the endless multitude of gender just visions, we spoke with Sakura (30) and Noe Noe (26), two transgender1 women working as peer educators and advocates at the Myanmar MSM and Transgender Network (MMTN), an organisation specialised in HIV prevention and care related activities in various parts of Myanmar. Our conversation with Sakura and Noe Noe shows that there is so much that the HIV movement – particularly that involving transgender women – can teach us about gender justice. HIV care for transgender communities in Myanmar: Slow and uneven There are approximately 270,(external link)000 people living with HIV in Myanmar, according to 2021 data. The number of new HIV infections in Myanmar has decreased each year, from almost 30,000 in the early 2000s to around 11,000 in 2017. Myanmar has also performed reasonably well(external link) when it comes to providing treatment access for people living with HIV, and is facilitating viral suppression for 95 percent of those on treatment. Programmes involving PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis), a prescription medicine that can reduce one’s chance of becoming infected with HIV, are available since its inclusion in Myanmar’s National Strategic Plan IV 2020-2025. However, both the COVID-19(external link) pandemic and the political crisis that erupted in 2021(external link) have undermined HIV related programmes, along with the wider healthcare system on which such programmes rely in Myanmar. Stigma and criminalisation continue, in particular related to sexuality, gender expressions, and drug use, weakening any attempt to curb HIV-related morbidity and mortality. This disproportionately harms marginalised communities such as sex workers, people who use drugs, men who have sex with men (MSM)2, and transgender people already suffering from socioeconomic exclusion or exploitation. In the context of HIV response and related data in Myanmar, transgender women have typically been categorised in the MSM population(external link), even though many of them do not identify as men. Meanwhile, as underlined by Sakura, HIV prevention and care services (including the PrEP programme) in Myanmar were initially targeted only towards the so-called MSM community, and “only a couple of years back the PrEP programme was widened for the transgender community,” added Sakura. “Transgender people often face discrimination not only due to their gender [expressions], but also because society tends to associate them with HIV spread and infection,” explains Sakura as she describes her HIV prevention work in six townships across Yangon, as well as parts of Rakhine and Mon State. Indeed, a 2021 report by the UNFPA(external link) shows that transgender women are more likely to experience violence and discrimination compared to others who do not identify as heterosexual or cisgender3 (such as – but not limited to – people identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer4, or LGBTQ+5), who are already highly vulnerable to stigma and abuse, including in medical settings. “Prior to Covid, there seemed to be more teasing and stigma targeting the transgender community, but now transgender people seem to have more freedom and mobility,” added Sakura as she talked about the growing visibility of transgender and other LGBTQ+ people, including in social movements across Myanmar. “Societal perspective has been slowly changing for the better, because there have been more social media and online campaigns against discrimination, for instance in the form of videos. These online campaigns are more attractive nowadays, and social influencers – like famous make-up artists – are involved in talking about topics that are considered taboo such as sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR(external link)), PrEP, et cetera,” explained Sakura, sounding optimistic about the post-Covid changing attitudes towards transgender people. Nevertheless, many people still do not take transgender people seriously. Noe Noe, who is now involved in a SRHR education project of MMTN, was previously reluctant to be fully involved in this work because she was afraid of being discriminated against. She said, “when trying to educate the general population [about SRHR], some people don’t want to listen to us and they don’t respect us. Some people would tease and insult us.” So how does one persevere and keep doing this challenging work? When we asked her, Noe Noe answered, “my strategy is to be as patient as possible. Sometimes I want to respond to those who insult and tease me, but I have to control my emotions. The Buddhist teaching of ‘tolerance’ helps me to ‘tolerate’ those insults and instead focus more on the goal of the work.” Beyond the so-called ‘key populations’ At MMTN, part of Sakura’s responsibilities is to provide HIV awareness training amongst various men who have sex with men and transgender communities. These include training and outreach efforts to curb the spread of HIV through education and referral programmes. “Our awareness training covers issues related to sexual and reproductive health and rights, sexual orientation, gender identities and expressions, and sex characteristics, and sexually transmitted infections (STI). We also address practical STI prevention strategies such as the systematic use of condoms, information and assistance for HIV testing, and more,” said Sakura as she elaborated on her work with MMTN. Though MMTN’s work seems to focus more on the specific needs of men who have sex with men and transgender communities, Sakura and Noe Noe argue that a large part of their – and other peer workers’ – responsibility is to reach beyond the so-called key populations (namely MSM and transgender communities). In other words, HIV prevention and care work is not only about reaching out to the communities stereotypically associated with HIV, but also about building connections with the wider society. “During our awareness raising programmes, we talk with family members, friends, and other people around those who identify as MSM or transgender. Even police officers come and listen sometimes, even though we are not specifically targeting them,” according to Sakura. Similarly, MMTN’s new peer-led SRHR education project, for which Noe Noe is now preparing to be a champion trainer, consists of education curricula tailored to three categories of target groups – LGBTQ+ communities, young people, and the general public (notably cisgender and heterosexual people). This means Noe Noe and 13 other champion trainers will be covering all topics related to sexual and reproductive health and rights. They are now getting ready to educate others about practical matters such as family planning, but with a more holistic approach that embraces people of all genders and sexualities. Indeed, when it comes to HIV prevention and care, Sakura and Noe Noe highlight the importance of demystifying gender and sexuality amongst the general public by engaging in meaningful conversations with people who do not necessarily or openly identify as queer, taking into account that social stigma (or conversely – acceptance and solidarity) influences public health. Marginalisation and discrimination tend to push people away from the very support system from which they could benefit – be it health, social, or otherwise. This not only increases the vulnerability of marginalised communities, but magnifies overall public health risks which at the end of the day impact everyone, albeit in unequal ways. Gender and class Born, raised and based in Yangon, Sakura began working as Assistant Project Officer at a leading HIV clinic for transgender communities several years ago. She joined MMTN in February 2023. Prior to her involvement in the HIV movement, Sakura worked as a make-up artist. “I became involved in this movement because I wanted to help improve the health and education of transgender women,” and based on her experience operating in the field, Sakura wishes that her fellow community members could go beyond survival economies – from make-up and flower industries to sex work – and take a more prominent role in community mobilisation and movement for progressive change. The barriers to such an aspiration seem insurmountable sometimes, as Sakura notes how transgender women are more socially and economically disadvantaged when compared with men who have sex with men (let alone compared with other groups more privileged due to their class, gender, or sexuality). She recalled her own lived experience, resembling those of other transgender women around the world(external link), “compared to MSM, I’ve been more discriminated against by family members,” and “we often see that transgender communities seem to be less [formally] educated than MSM. It is generally harder for transgender people to find jobs or livelihoods.” Noe Noe, who unlike Sakura was born and raised in a small city outside Yangon, then added, “many of my transgender friends in rural areas died due to HIV. Many of them don’t know about or don’t have access to antiretroviral treatment, or they may not have the means to access it.” Difficulties in accessing healthcare, educational and livelihood opportunities mean that many transgender people6 have to rely on informal/survival economies such as sex work and/or drug-related livelihoods (such as small-scale drug selling), which remain highly criminalised in Myanmar, affecting people whose existence challenges the gender binary and/or heteronormative norms. This is why sex workers in particular are highly vulnerable to HIV infection and related risks. Meanwhile, gender affirming healthcare7 is still lacking and largely inaccessible for transgender communities. Coupled with economic hardship and social stigma, this exacerbates the mental health toll(external link) of being transgender in Myanmar. Inequalities also prevail between those residing in urban and rural areas, or between more ‘developed’ and more remote areas. “Gender norms tend to be more rigid in rural and remote areas. Boys get bullied in schools or rejected by family members for expressing more feminine traits, and they have not even started crossdressing yet. This has a lot to do with people’s limited understanding of gender and sexuality,” explained Noe Noe. Such experiences of rejection and isolation tend to have long-lasting impacts on one’s life, and oftentimes these experiences extend well into adulthood. As added by Sakura, “transgender people tend to have self-doubt, maybe because since we were very young we have never really been accepted [by others]. Even when applying for a job at a place like MMTN, for example, we might have this inner fear that we won’t be accepted, even though we have the same skills as others who are not transgender. This is why many transgender people end up doing jobs typically reserved for transgender people.” Another significant – yet often taken for granted – challenge is “the fact that many transgender people do not have mobile phones and social media due to their low living standards. This makes it hard to reach them and to involve them in peer-to-peer engagement and work,” added Sakura, illustrating how precariousness often stands in the way of sustainable collective mobilisation. Determined to change this, Sakura emphasised once again, “what’s most important for me is to help educate fellow transgender friends, and stress the need for better job opportunities so we could have higher standards of living.” On top of all that, Sakura and Noe Noe underlined the importance of meaningful work for the transgender community, “our involvement in this movement is not necessarily about the money. It’s also about setting examples and opening doors for others from our community, In the past we were only pawns, but now we’re becoming role models,” said Sakura, passionately, after which Noe Noe added, “when I go out into the community and educate others, I am doing something big for society, not just for myself.” Disrupting the gender binary Sakura explained, “in Myanmar language, we use the term ‘Ah Pwint’ to refer to a transgender woman, and this term literally translates to ‘open flowers’. But to refer to MSM, ‘Ah Pone’ is more often used, and it literally means ‘closed flowers’, mainly because MSM tend to be more closeted [in comparison with transgender people] and many of them need to pretend and hide.” Perhaps it is through this act of following (albeit unwillingly, for some) heteronormative standards of masculinity (and straight-passing) that ‘Ah Pone’ seem to have relatively smoother access to more formal and well-paying jobs. ‘Ah Pwint’, on the other hand, tend to face more frequent rejections due to their bolder gender expressions and more importantly due to the rigid and sexist ways society fabricates womanhood. One can observe that “’Ah Pone’ can more easily blend in,” said Sakura, as we discussed why only one (Noe Noe) of the 14 champion trainers working on the MMTN’s new peer-led education project is transgender. However, this is not to say that all transgender women are uniformly bold in their gender expressions, and not all men who have sex with men – either those identifying as gay, bisexual, or otherwise – (want to) pass as straight and/or face no challenges in navigating life, work, and relationships. Further, both Sakura and Noe Noe warn that individual choices are constantly shaped by one’s surroundings. “Some people may choose to present as ‘Ah Pone’ because there are certain factors that prevent them from crossdressing or expressing their more feminine side. Perhaps their biological family don’t accept that, or perhaps they themselves do not accept that. But in the [MMTN] office, we [‘Ah Pwint’ and ‘Ah Pone’] work together. We consider each other as family. No one has to hide their identity here, and the office is a safe space for people to be themselves,” added Sakura. Queer communities in Myanmar are also increasingly using the term ‘Ma Pone Ma Pwint’ (meaning ‘open or closed flowers’) to describe the common overlap between ‘Ah Pone’ and ‘Ah Pwint’, in so doing denoting the complexity of one’s gender, sexual expressions, and more interestingly how they disrupt rigid norms tied with the gender binary.8 After all, our identities and expressions – gender, sexual, or otherwise – are complex and nuanced. As human beings, we cannot be neatly put into boxes, nor can our gender and sexuality be turned into mutually exclusive categories. Self-labelling can feel empowering for some, and it can help us reclaim identities traditionally discarded by mainstream society, similar to the way the previously derogatory term ‘queer’ is so widely used across the globe today. Without the HIV movement, much of this would have remained a distant dream. From public health to gender justice In Myanmar, the HIV movement is closely linked with – and in many cases plays an important role in pushing for – public health programmes to address HIV. In essence, these public health programmes are not specifically aimed at advancing queer rights, but in reality, they end up (and in fact, they wouldn’t be as effective without the act of) visibilising and empowering queer communities, especially those living on the margins due to their socioeconomic and health struggles. Despite their challenging situations, many of them are heavily involved in HIV activism, shaping the movement as influential leaders. “Now I’m at a place where I provide awareness and information to the general public. When we go out into the field and do this work, people see us differently. They see me as a transgender person doing something for the wider society, and it’s almost like they are envious of me, and they might think, ‘if she can do it [this kind of important work], then I should be able to do it’,” said Noe Noe. Further, by debunking myths and taboos around gender and sexuality (and how they affect one’s socioeconomic status), the HIV movement embraces people outside the queer community who tend to be cast out or forgotten by more mainstream activists. Here, we can think of ethnic women who engage in sex work or women who use drugs, who unfortunately remain underrepresented in women’s organisations, and while many of them come from poor and/or working class backgrounds, their distinct needs and struggles are rarely incorporated in the agendas of workers movements. As such, HIV advocacy, despite carrying a primarily public health goal, helps brings intersectional oppression (and struggle) to the surface, and revealing inequalities amongst people typically seen as a monolith from the outside. It is through this work that the HIV movement enriches our perspective on gender justice, one that goes beyond the stereotypical needs of only cisgender and heterosexual women, but one that acknowledges and embraces the diversity of intersectional struggles. Tags MYANMAR COMMENTARY MYANMAR The term ‘transgender’ is “used most often as an umbrella term and frequently abbreviated to ’trans.’ Identifying as transgender, or trans, means that one’s internal knowledge of gender is different from conventional or cultural expectations based on the sex that person was assigned at birth. While transgender may refer to a woman who was assigned male at birth or a man who was assigned female at birth, transgender is an umbrella term that can also describe someone who identifies as a gender other than woman or man, such as non binary, genderqueer, genderfluid, no gender or multiple genders, or some other gender identity.” Source: https://lgbtqia.ucdavis.edu/educated/glossary. Reflecting on the experiences of and lessons learned by Sakura, this commentary largely focuses on the particular challenges faced by those identifying as transgender women, whose experiences of stigma, violence, and discrimination resemble – yet can be more severe, albeit underestimated, than – those faced by cisgender women. The term ‘men who have sex with men’ has been used since the late 1980s and its abbreviation MSM since mid 1990s, primarily within the context of public health in general and HIV response in particular. The use of the term is considered helpful mainly by those in health and academic sectors for its focus on behaviour (as opposed to identity) which “might put someone at risk for an infection such as HIV or monkeypox”. From this point of view, arguably, "[p]revention strategies that target people based on 'what you do' rather than 'who you are' reach more people who may be affected by a public health concern, including heterosexual men who have sex with men, rather than limiting outreach just to those who identify as gay or bisexual." See: https://theconversation.com/men-who-have-sex-with-men-originated-during-the-hiv-pandemic-to-focus-on-behavior-rather-than-identity-but-not-everyone-thinks-the-term-helps-189619 Nevertheless, similar to the term ‘women who have sex with women’, the use of the term MSM risks underestimating the complexity and nuances of one’s sexuality and gender (and how it interacts with discriminatory policies and norms), reducing same-sex or same-gender relations as merely sexual, and disregarding the significance of self-labelling ("and, by extension, their self-determination"), “community, social networks, and relationships in which same-gender pairing is shared and supported." See: https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/AJPH.2004.046714. The term MSM is used throughout this commentary because it was the term commonly referred to by Sakura, the respondent. ‘Cisgender’ is used to describe someone whose gender identity largely corresponds with the biological sex assigned at birth. ‘Cisgender’ is thus fundamentally distinct from ‘transgender’. Previously known and used as a derogatory term against non-heterosexual people, the term ‘queer’ is now increasingly used to refer to identities and expressions outside heterosexual and/or cisgender norms. It is sometimes used as a catch-all term including all identities under the LGBTQ+ banner, and/or used to imply the complexity of one’s sexuality, gender, and relationships. The abbreviation LGBTQ+ or extended variations of it (such LGBTQIA+, which includes ‘intersex’ and ‘asexual’) is often used as an umbrella term for gender and sexual identities and expressions outside cisgender and heteronormative standards, which are highly diverse. However, we note that people’s gender and sexual identities and expressions can be complex, nuanced, intersectional, and fluid. Thus, gender and sexual identities and expressions cannot be neatly turned into labels and/or categories that one can easily assign to (groups of) individuals. In addition, due to social and legal frameworks in Myanmar (and many other jurisdictions across the globe) that marginalise and criminalise gender and sexuality outside cis-heteronormative standards, numerous individuals may – for the safety of themselves and their loved ones – choose to hide their identities and expressions, and in so doing they comply with cis-heteronormative standards, thereby ‘passing’ – or ending up being categorised – as cisgender and/or heterosexual. Transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people are highly diverse and have diverse experiences. This commentary is based on a conversation with Sakura(‘s experience and insights), hence the piece’s main focus on transgender women in Myanmar. Needless to say, the experiences of transgender women cannot be generalised, and surely they cannot be generalised for other transgender people, such as transgender men and genderqueer or non-binary people, amongst others. According to the World Health Organization, gender affirming healthcare can “include any single or combination of a number of social, psychological, behavioural or medical (including hormonal treatment or surgery) interventions designed to support and affirm an individual’s gender identity.” See: https://www.who.int/standards/classifications/frequently-asked-questions/gender-incongruence-and-transgender-health-in-the-icd. For people whose gender identity and expressions do not align with their sex assigned at birth (and the gender norms that come with it), gender affirming healthcare can help enhance their quality of life, especially their mental health (see: https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/trgh.2015.0008), while lack of access can lead many to seek unsafe and/or illegal interventions. It is important to note that each person has their own unique experience and preference when it comes to gender affirming healthcare, and not every transgender person chooses to undergo medical interventions such as hormone therapy and surgery. Furthermore, cisgender people can also access gender affirming healthcare, for example “cisgender men who take testosterone therapy, cisgender women who undergo breast augmentation.” See: https://www.healthline.com/health/what-is-gender-affirming-care#access Though beyond the scope of this commentary, there are many other terms and concepts being used in Myanmar to refer to the different gender and sexual identities and expressions. The term for transgender man for example is ‘yout ka shar’..."
Source/publisher: Transnational Institute ( Amsterdam)
2023-07-04
Date of entry/update: 2023-07-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: The international aid group Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has wound down a 17-year HIV programme in Yangon, transferring about 17,000 patients to government care, an official of the Geneva-based group said in a statement on June 22.
Description: "The project has provided free medical treatment for HIV patients with antiretroviral (ARV) therapy at its clinic in Thaketa township since 2003. The statement said the transfer “represents a milestone for both the MSF and for Myanmar, underlining the country’s growing capacity to provide ARV treatment to people living with HIV.” “The Yangon project ... also followed up by piloting onsite treatment for co-infections,” said Pavlo Kolovos, MSF’s head of mission in Myanmar. “Our free of charge [multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis] treatment was piloted in 2009 and hepatitis C treatment followed in 2016.” “This represents a unique and innovative model of care, and MSF continues to advocate for these approaches to be taken up by other HIV care providers,” he added. MSF gave free medical treatment at clinics in Hlaing Tharyar, Insein and Thaketa townships. It also delivered medicine to patients who couldn’t come to a clinic, as well as mental health help, said Dr Soe Yadanar, the Thaketa clinic’s manager. U Tin Tun, a patient, said he has been treated by MSF for more than 15 years. MSF cured more than 60,000 people in Kachin State, Shan State and Tanintharyi Region, and transferred nearly 25,000 patients from 2016 to December 2019. MSF will continue providing HIV treatment and prevention measures targeting vulnerable groups and infected people in Kachin, Shan and Tanintharyi, and will remain in Yangon..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
2020-06-25
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Topic: HIV/AIDS Myanmar
Topic: HIV/AIDS Myanmar
Description: "As part of a nationwide strategy to transfer HIV patients to Myanmar’s National AIDS Programme (NAP), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) closed our HIV clinic in Insein, Yangon in late June. The Insein clinic, which opened in 2014, was part of our larger Yangon project, which has been running since 2003. At its height, the project provided treatment to more than 17,000 people, many from outside Yangon. The closure represents a milestone both for MSF and for Myanmar, marking the country’s growing capacity to provide antiretroviral (ARV) treatment for people living with HIV. MSF was the first provider of ARV treatment in Myanmar and for some time ran the largest HIV treatment programme in the country. In recent years, as the capacity of the NAP and National Tuberculosis Programme (NTP) has grown, we have transferred patients to the care of the Ministry of Health and Sports for treatment in clinics closer to their homes..."
Source/publisher: "Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)"
2019-07-08
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "In Myanmar, migrants, mobility impacted communities and host communities face several challenges affecting their access to health care services. These barriers are due to poor access to information and knowledge, lack of accessibility to health care facilities, discrimination, financial, logistical, linguistic and cultural barriers and weak referral mechanisms between services in origin and destination areas. For more than 10 years, IOM Myanmar has been working with the Ministry of Health and Sports (MOHS), State and Township Health Authorities and Communities and partners to develop and deliver extensive and comprehensive health programming with a focus on HIV, TB and malaria; maternal and child health, sexual reproductive health and rights, gender based violence (GBV); and health system strengthening, including cross border health and the migration dimension in humanitarian crises. IOM works to strengthen state and township level planning and capacity in the delivery of migrant health through engagement of private entities and linking private-public partnerships as well as capacity building of private and public health staff. For example, IOM values partnerships with existing ethnic health organisations (EHOs), civil society organisations (CSOs) and local NGOs, women’s organisations, youth volunteers and men’s groups and communities to expand access to outreach services and conduct information sessions and prevention activities. Moreover, the Migration Health Unit has worked to strengthen referral mechanisms through migrant voucher systems and the revitalisation of Village Tract Health Committees (VTHC), provision of essential medicines and supplies, minor refurbishment of health facilities and the establishment of migrant resource centres/service centres at border areas and special economic zone areas. IOM Myanmar also strives for the enhancement of quality data collection and reporting including health management information systems and data quality assurance and through conducting assessments of service accessibility in targeted communities..."
Source/publisher: IOM Myanmar
2018-07-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 490.97 KB
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Description: Abstract: "Integrated in the global economy of HIV intervention, young and mobile Shan men in Chiang Mai who work as hosts, dancers and masseurs in gay establishments are now plugged into discrete health categories (i.e. men who have sex with men MSM), male sex workers (MSW), ?Burmese” migrants, ?hidden population”, etc.). Current HIV intervention has employed information communication technology (ICT), which produces standardized HIV information dissemination, testing and treatment. This paper examines Shan men?s use of their mobile phones. Using Miller and Slater?s (2000) concept of dynamics of objectification, I analyze the creative use of mobile phones as realizing aspired and ascribed identities, characterized as presentation of enviable life in Chiang Mai. On Facebook, they engage in political discussion, conduct religious activities, and manage their social networks. I argue that the presentation of enviable identities reflects notions of masculinity and health, which determine Shan men?s access to, awareness of and management of health information. HIV testing is crucial in HIV prevention, but Shan men value their role as economic providers more than spending for personal health and undergoing an HIV test. They perform Buddhist rituals as supplication for a healthy body. The paper illustrates the failure of dissemination models and the importance in knowing the situated knowledge of Shan men?s sex work in order to provide effective HIV intervention."
Creator/author: Nikos Dacanay
Source/publisher: International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies: Burma/Myanmar in Transition: Connectivity, Changes and Challenges: University Academic Service Centre (UNISERV), Chiang Mai University, Thailand, 24-­26 July 2015
2015-07-26
Date of entry/update: 2015-08-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 216.77 KB
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Description: "Due to the long running civil war, poorly recorded human right abuse, lack of job opportunity, economic hardship and political instability tens of thousands of Myanmar citizens of people of diverse social backgrounds are fleeing their home land resorted to settle in neighboring country, Thailand. Most of them are ethnic minorities from rebel held areas such as Karan state, Shan state and Kachin state in search of better lifestyle , political freedom and higher income in economically better off its neighbor Thailand. There are also pull factors which contributed migrants to seek job opportunity in Thailand being the fact that some of them are persuaded by their relatives who have already existed in destination country. Moreover, relatively higher income also attracts migrants to settle down in Thailand.".....Paper delivered at the International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies: Burma/Myanmar in Transition: Connectivity, Changes and Challenges: University Academic Service Centre (UNISERV), Chiang Mai University, Thailand, 24-­26 July 2015.
Creator/author: Naing Aung, Lynn
Source/publisher: International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies: Burma/Myanmar in Transition: Connectivity, Changes and Challenges: University Academic Service Centre (UNISERV), Chiang Mai University, Thailand, 24-­26 July 2015
2015-07-26
Date of entry/update: 2015-08-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 545.82 KB
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Description: "...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..."
Source/publisher: Reuters AlertNet
2012-05-30
Date of entry/update: 2012-05-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Key charts and summaries
Source/publisher: HIV & AIDS Data Hub for Asia and the Pacific
2011-12-00
Date of entry/update: 2012-05-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.43 MB
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Description: Table of contents: 1. Background 2. Methodology 3. HIV Antibody Testing 4. Data analysis 5. Findings 5.1. Sample collection 5.2. HIV prevalence by sentinel population 5.3. HIV prevalence by sex and age 5.4. HIV prevalence by place of residence and marital status 5.5. Results of syphilis screening 6. HIV trends over time 6.1. HIV prevalence among low risk population 1992-2009 6.2. HIV prevalence among young population 7. Decentralization of HIV testing 8. Limitations 9. Recommendations 9.1. Recommendations for programme implementation 9.2. Recommendations for surveillance 9.3. Recommendations for research... Annexes
Source/publisher: National AIDS Programme Department of Health Ministry of Health
2010-05-00
Date of entry/update: 2012-05-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "HIV has been well established in Asia for many years. However, many countries have recorded relatively low rates of infection even in sub-populations with high-risk behaviour. At the time of the last MAP report on Asia from Kuala Lumpur in 1999, only Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia were reporting substantial nation wide epidemics, with a number of states in India and provinces in China also heavily affected. In the last two years, the picture has changed dramatically. Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Nepal and Vietnam, for example, have all registered marked increases in HIV infection in recent years, while in China, home to a fifth of the world?s people, the infection seems to be moving into new groups of the population..."
Source/publisher: MAP (Monitoring the Aids Pandemic)
2001-10-04
Date of entry/update: 2011-01-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Der Abzug der Gelder des UN Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria stellt einen schweren Einschnitt in die Gesundheitsversorgung Burmas dar. Laut ?ffentlicher Aussage des Global Fund sind die Rahmenbedingungen f?r eine effektive Implementierung der Programme aufgrund zunehmender Restriktionen des Regimes nicht mehr gegeben. Gleichzeitig soll der Global Fund jedoch von den USA und dortigen Menschenrechtsorganisationen unter massivem politischem Druch zum R?ckzug aus Burma bewegt wroden sein. Unter internationalen Akteuren im humanit?ren Bereich besteht noch immer keine Einigkeit dar?ber, ob in Burma humanit?re Hilfe geleistet werden soll und - wenn ja - in welcher Form. keywords: UN Global Fund, humanitarian aid, AIDS, NGOs
Creator/author: Jasmin Lorch
Source/publisher: Asienhaus Focus Asien Nr. 26; S. 65-71
2005-12-29
Date of entry/update: 2010-12-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Deutsch, German
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Description: OVERVIEW OF STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS: Table 1: Priority setting of the National Strategic Plan on AIDS – Myanmar 2006‐2010 - Priority Strategic Directions - Highest priority: 1. Reducing HIV‐related risk, vulnerability and impact among sex workers and their clients; 2. Reducing HIV‐related risk, vulnerability and impact among men who have sex with men; 3. Reducing HIV‐related risk, vulnerability and impact among drug users; 4. Reducing HIV‐related risk, vulnerability and impact among partners and families of people living with HIV... High priority: 5. Reducing HIV‐related risk, vulnerability and impact among institutionalized populations; 6. Reducing HIV‐related risk, vulnerability and impact among mobile populations; 7. Reducing HIV‐related risk, vulnerability and impact among uniformed services personnel; 8. Reducing HIV‐related risk, vulnerability and impact among young people...Priority: 9. Enhancing prevention, care, treatment and support in the workplace... 10. Enhancing HIV prevention among men and women of reproductive age...Fundamental overarching issues: 11. Meeting the needs of people living with HIV for comprehensive care, support and treatment 12. Enhancing the capacity of health systems, coordination and capacity of local NGOs & community based organizations 13. Monitoring and Evaluating
Source/publisher: National AIDS Programme
2010-11-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf pdf pdf pdf
Size: 2.81 MB 1.03 MB 352.85 KB 1.3 MB
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Description: Myanmar has one of the most serious HIV epidemics in Asia. Contrary to many perceptions, the response to the epidemic is expanding. Funding for the response has gradually increased over recent years. However, coverage remains unacceptably low, donors seem largely unwilling to inject the resources needed to meet health needs and the government itself significantly under-invests in health. The National Strategic Plan on AIDS 2006?2010 issued by the Ministry of Health provides the reference framework for the response. Despite what might be expected given the environment, the Plan was developed in a participatory fashion, is multi-sectoral and up to date and prioritises service provision for the most at-risk populations. It is supported by a government-led, inclusive technical coordination group. However, significant barriers to service provision exist. These include constraining administrative procedures, controlled access, limited research and a highly politicised context. Nevertheless, the results demonstrate that persistent negotiation can yield agreements resulting in increased services for those in need. Nearly 40 international and national NGOs are implementing successful activities in Myanmar, alongside government efforts and with UN support.
Source/publisher: Humanitarian Practice Network (HPT)
2008-12-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: TABLE OF CONTENTS: A. Introduction: 1. Greater Mekong Subregion Overview 2. Population Mobility in the GMS 3. HIV/AIDS in the GMS Countries 3.1 A Region with Two HIV/AIDS Epidemics 3.2 Causes of the Epidemics 3.3 Regional Responses 4. Objectives and Methodology of the Study 4.1 Literature Review 4.2 National and Regional Consultations 4.3 Analysis and Draft Report 4.4 Terms and definitions ….. B. Country Report: Cambodia: 1. Country Profile 2. Population Migration and Mobility 2.1 Internal and International Migration and Mobility 2.2 Cross-Border Population Mobility 2.3 Trafficking of Women and Children 2.4 Specific Migrant and Mobile Population Groups 3. Typology of Migrant and Mobile Populations 4. HIV/AIDS Situations 4.1 Characteristics of the HIV Epidemic 4.2 Geographical Distribution of HIV/AIDS 4.3 HIV Risk Situations in Relation to Migration and Mobility 4.4 Hot Spots for Mobile Population and HIV/AIDS 5. Discussion and Conclusion ….. C. Country Report: Lao People?s Democratic Republic: 1. Country Profile 2. Migration and Mobility 2.1 The Thai-Lao Border Provinces 2.2 Farming in the Lowland Border Provinces 2.3 Emigrant Workers 2.4 Trafficking 2.5 Corridors of Development 2.6 Specific Mobile Population Groups ….. 3. Typology of Mobile Populations 4. HIV/AIDS in the Lao PDR 4.1 HIV/AIDS Country Profile 4.2 HIV/AIDS Risk situation 4.3 Hot Spots of Population Mobility and HIV/AIDS 5. Conclusion ….. D. Country Report: Myanmar 1. Country Profile 2. Migration and Mobility 2.1 Internal Migration and Mobility 2.2 Cross Border Migration and Mobility 2.3 Trafficking of Women and Children 2.4 Specific Migrant and Mobile Population Groups 3. Typology of Migrant and Mobile Populations 4. HIV/AIDS Situations 4.1 The Two Epidemics – Intravenous Drug Use and Sexual Transmission 4.2 Current Trend of HIV Epidemic 4.3 Hot Spots of Population Mobility and HIV/AIDS 5. Conclusion ….. E. Country Report: Vietnam 1. Country Profile 2. Migration and Mobility 2.1 Internal Migration and Mobility 2.2 Cross-Border Migration and Mobility 2.3 Trafficking of Women and Children 2.4 Specific Migrant and Mobile Population Groups … 3. Typology of Migrant and Mobile Populations 4. HIV/AIDS Situations 4.1 The ?Two Epidemics? – IDUs and Sex Workers 4.2 Drug Use and HIV Vulnerability 4.3 Current Trend of HIV Epidemic 4.4 HIV Risk Situations in Relation to Population Mobility 4.6 Hot Spots of Population Mobility and HIV/AIDS 5. Discussion and Conclusions ….. F. Country Report: Yunnan Province, People?s Republic of China: 1. Province and Country Profile 2. Migration and Mobility 2.1 Intra-Provincial Mobility 2.2 Inter-Provincial Mobility 2.3 International Cross-Border Mobility 2.4 Trafficking and Human Smuggling 2.5 Specific Mobile Population Groups 3. Typology of Mobile Populations 4. HIV/AIDS in Yunnan and PRC 4.1 HIV/AIDS Profile 4.2 HIV/AIDS Risk Situation 4.3 Hot Spots of Population Mobility and HIV/AIDS 5. Conclusion ….. G. Conclusion and Discussion: 1. Migration and Mobility 2. Gender and Vulnerability 3. Poverty and Development as Driving Forces for Development 4. The Dynamics of HIV Spread and Implications for Mobility 5. The Responses ….. Annex: Map 1: Major Population Mobility Trends & Transmission of HIV/AIDS in the Greater Mekong Subregion Map 2: Major Border Crossings in the Greater Mekong Subregion Map 3: Progression of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in the Greater Mekong Subregion Map 4: Hot Spots of Population Mobility and HIV/AIIDS in the Greater Mekong Subregion Map 5: Spread of HIV Over Time in ASIA 1984 to 1999 ….. Bibliography ….. Persons and Organisations Consulted ….. List of Tables, Figures and Maps A. Introduction Table 1: HIV/AIDS Situation in the GMS Countries B. Cambodia Table 2: Country Profile – Cambodia Table 3: Typology of Migrant and Mobile Population Groups and Assessment of Their HIV Risk Situations in Cambodia Table 4: HIV Seroprevalence Among Sentinel Groups in 1999 Table 5: HIV Prevalence in Selected Sentinel Groups Table 6: Hot Spots of Population Mobility and HIV/AIDS Risk Situations in Cambodia C. Lao People?s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) Table 7: Country Profile – Lao PDR Table 8: Establishments that Provide Sexual Services, and their Customers Table 9: Trucks Departing and Entering Lao PDR Table 10: Typology of Migrant and Mobile Population Groups and Assessment of Their Risk Situation in Lao PDR Table 11: Hot Spots of Population Mobility and HIV/AIDS Risk Situations in Lao PDR D. Myanmar Table 12: Country Profile – Myanmar Table 13: Typology of Migrant and Mobile Population Groups and Assessment of Their HIV Risk Situations in Myanmar Figure 1: HIV Prevalence Among Military Recruits Figure 2: HIV Prevalence Among Pregnant Women Table 14: Hot Spots of Population Mobility and HIV/AIDS Risk Situations in Myanmar E. Vietnam Table 15: Country Profile – Vietnam Table 16: Typology of Migrant and Mobile Population Groups and Assessment of Their HIV Risk Situations in Vietnam Table 17: Hot Spots of Population Mobility and HIV/AIDS Risk Situations in Vietnam F. Yunnan Province, People?s Republic of China (PRC) Table 18: Country Profile – Yunnan Province and People?s Republic of China (PRC) Table 19: Typology of Migrant and Mobile Population Groups and Assessment of Their HIV Risk Situations in Yunnan Table 20: HIV Prevalence Rates for Injecting Drug Users 1992-1999 Table 21: Hot Spots of Population Mobility and HIV/AIDS Risk Situations in Yunnan … Maps 1. Major Population Mobility Trend and Transmission of HIV/AIDS in the Greater Mekong Subregion 2. Major Border Crossings in the Greater Mekong Subregion 3. Progression of HIV/AIDS Epidemic in the Greater Mekong Subregion 4. Hot Spots of Population Mobility and HIV/AIDS in the Greater Mekong Subregion 5. Spread of HIV Over Time in Asia 1984-1999
Creator/author: Supang Chantavanich, Allan Beesey, Shakti Paul
Source/publisher: Asian Research Center for Migration Institute of Asian Studies Chulalongkorn University
2000-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 716.1 KB 73.53 KB
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Description: Myanmar is one of the few countries in East Asia that has reported a decrease in the overall prevalence of HIV in recent years. Estimates indicate that HIV prevalence peaked at about 0.9% (15-49%). By 2007, the estimated prevalence was 0.7% (range: 0.4-1.1%)..... Myanmar remains the second largest opium poppy growing country after Afghanistan, contributing 20% of opium poppy cultivation in major cultivating countries in 2008.3 Heroin use has become widespread and is the primary drug of choice among people who inject drugs. While the use of heroin and opium has been observed to be declining in recent years, the use of methamphetamine has been increasing since 2003. Injecting of amphetamine type stimulants has also been reported to occur, as well as injecting of a mixture of opiates and pharmaceutical drugs.
Source/publisher: UNAIDS, UNODC
2010-02-04
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Kaci Hickox, a nurse from Texas, worked as the primary health care manager for Doctors Without Borders/M?decins Sans Fronti?res (MSF) programs in northern Rakhine state, Myanmar, from May 2007 to March 2009. The majority of MSF patients in this area, on the border of Bangladesh, are part of an ethnic and Muslim group called the Rohingya. They have great difficulty receiving any health care, as travel restrictions or fees for travel permission keep them confined to their own villages. Even if they can reach health care facilities, often members of this group cannot afford to pay and are subjected to discrimination at government- run hospitals or health centers. During the two years she worked in northern Rakhine state, Hickox?s primary responsibility was managing three rural clinics that serve approximately 110,000 Rohingya people.
Source/publisher: Doctors Without Borders/M?decins Sans Fronti?res (MSF)
2009-07-24
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: JAPAN International Cooperation is leading the fight against three major diseases in Myanmar. The Myanmar Times? Khin Myat met with JICA project leader and tuberculosis specialist, Mr Kosuke Okada, and malaria expert Mr Masatoshi Nakamura to ask about their activities. 1. How much money is JICA spending annually to control these diseases? Our project period is from January 2005 to January 2010. We have been spending around ¥150 million per year on long- and short-term experts, international and domestic training, provision of equipment such as vehicles, lab equipment, microscopes, mosquito nets, lab test kits, local training and consumables.
Source/publisher: Myanmar Times (Volume 22, No. 425)
2008-06-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: RANGOON, Feb 25, 2010 (IPS) - When Aye Aye (not her real name) leaves her youngest son at home each night, she tells him that she has to work selling snacks. But what Aye actually sells is sex so that her 12-year-old son, a Grade 7 student, can finish his education.
Creator/author: Mon Mon Myat
Source/publisher: IPS
2010-02-25
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: RANGOON, Burma -- Dada would have killed herself but she couldn?t afford a proper burial. An orphan with a broad, sweet face and downcast eyes, she recalled the horror of learning two years ago that she had HIV. She had been a prostitute since she was 15 and hadn?t saved enough for even a simple funeral, which according to her belief as a Buddhist was vital to reincarnation into a better life. So Dada kept on living. Now, at age 23, it is what is left of this life that frightens her. Friends and other prostitutes have begun wasting away from AIDS, unable to pay the staggering cost of antiretroviral drugs, and Dada admits with an awkward giggle that she expects the same fate. "I have no husband. I have no family," she whispered. "I have to stand on my own feet all by myself." The secretive Burmese government had long denied that this country had a major AIDS problem, but international health experts now say it is among the worst in Asia. With antiretroviral drugs for AIDS costing about 10 times a teacher?s monthly salary, few Burmese can pay for them. Fewer than 5 percent of those who need the drugs can get them free from the government and international agencies, according to U.N. estimates. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, a Geneva-based foundation, had planned to expand funding to triple the number of HIV-positive people receiving subsidized medication. But in August, it canceled a program to fight the three diseases in Burma and ended $87 million in funding, because of new restrictions imposed by the military government on travel and the import of medical supplies.
Creator/author: Alan Sipress, Ellen Nakashima
Source/publisher: Citing New Restrictions, Fund Cancels Treatment Program
2005-12-30
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Source/publisher: World Health Organization, SEARO, IVD
2007-08-12
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Myanmar?s HIV/AIDS epidemic -- estimated at 1.2 percent of the population -- is considered one of the most serious in Asia. But HIV/AIDS is just the latest problem to afflict this chaotic and corrupt country, which produces much of the world?s opium and has long suffered from social problems connected to its massive drug smuggling industry, including disease, addiction and organized crime. In 1988, the Burmese government was overthrown by a corrupt military junta that changed the country?s name to Myanmar. Reports of torture and mass murder followed. Western nations withdrew aid and imposed trade sanctions, which have crippled the nation?s economy. * Note: Figures reflect most recent statistics from UNAIDS and the World Health Organization.
Source/publisher: The Age of AIDS
2005-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: The national adult prevalence of HIV infection is between 1% to 2%. Myanmar is thus characterized as having a "generalized" epidemic. However, the spread of the HIV infection across the country is heterogenous varying widely by geographical location and by population sub group. HIV was introduced in Myanmar in mid-to-late 1980s and by the end of 2003, a cumulative 7,174 AIDS cases and 3,324 AIDS deaths have been reported. The male-to-female ratio among reported cases is 3.6:1. Among cases with known mode of transmission, 65% acquired infection by heterosexual route, 26% by injecting drug use, and 5% by contaminated blood. ....
Source/publisher: UNICEF, WHO, UNAIDS
2006-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Abstract Over 50 years ago, the Constitution of WHO projected a vision of health as a state of physical, mental and social well-being - a definition that has important conceptual and practical implications. Recently, health professionals begin to recognize the importance of the protection and promotion of human rights as necessary precondition for individual and community health. It is now clear that regardless of the effectiveness of technologies, the underlying civil, cultural, economic, political and social conditions have to be addressed as well in the health care paradigm.
Creator/author: Alice Khin M.B., B.S., M.Med (Int Med)
Source/publisher: Burma Watch
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Foreword: I Introduction... II Context: Overview of the epidemic in Myanmar... III Programme Achievements: Highlights in achievements - 1 Access to services to prevent the sexual transmission of HIV improved; 2 Access to services to prevent IDU transmission of HIV improved; 3 Knowledge and attitudes improved; 4 Access to services for HIV care and support improved; 5 Enabling environment and capacity building... IV Coordination, Harmonisation and Monitoring & Evaluation: Governance and Coordination; Monitoring and Evaluation... V FHAM Resources and Operational Issues: Financial resources; Operational issues... Conclusion... Annexe 1: FHAM budget overview... Annexe 2: FHAM Summary of technical progress... Annexe 3: Achievements by FHAM implementing partners... Annexe 4: Round II of the FHAM (FY 2004-05): Budget, expenditure and utilisation by implementing partners."...This report covers progress under both the Joint Programme and the Fund for HIV/AIDS in Myanmar because the two are so closely linked. It covers the calendar years 2003 and 2004 for the Joint Programme, and the second financial year for the FHAM, 2004 (1st April 2004 ?ƒ ?ï ? ?â�œ 31st March 2005). As all of the activities are ongoing, in some cases key events or achievements which have occurred later in 2005 ?ƒ ?ï ? ?â�œ strictly speaking outside the reporting period ?ƒ ?ï ? ?â�œ have been mentioned. In April and May 2005, the Country Coordinating Mechanism in Myanmar prepared a proposal for the 5th Round of the Global Fund. This proposal mobilised more actors and resulted in probably the best Global Fund proposal to date. Much of the information that went into the proposal has been used and borrowed and is presented here, to ensure that the work that went into the analysis for the Global Fund receives a broader hearing. Also in May, 2005, the Joint Programme underwent a three week, independent, external review. In preparation for this process, each of the five thematic Component Groups prepared pre-Review briefing papers which highlighted progress and identified key issues. These pre- Review papers have also informed this report, and the time and efforts of individuals who worked on them are hereby acknowledged. The Mid Term Review itself is contributing to a process of reflection and reorganisation, which will result in a Joint Programme document for 2006 and beyond, along with a resource mobilisation drive for the FHAM. And finally some words on the mobilisation of new resources for AIDS in Myanmar. The concerning news of course is that the Global Fund grants for tuberculosis, malaria and AIDS have been terminated, leaving a gap in resources which the FHAM and other sources will be required to fill. The good news is that the Government of the Netherlands in July 2005 indicated it will contribute ?ƒ ??‚ ??‚ ?4m to the FHAM, ?ƒ ??‚ ??‚ ?1m for each of the years 2005-08. This brings to four the number of donors contributing to the FHAM - in addition to the United Kingdom?ƒ ?ï ? ?â� ?s Department for International Development (DFID), Sweden?ƒ ?ï ? ?â� ?s Agency for International Development Cooperation (SIDA), and the Norwegian Government - and provides the first concrete funding commitment for the next cycle of programming. This report demonstrates that it is possible to deliver humanitarian assistance in Myanmar, and will, I hope, encourage donors to consider making such necessary investments in the fight against AIDS for the people of Myanmar."...Of the 2 versions the smaller one, the pre-publication version, has no photos but, as far as I can see from a brief comparison, the text is more or less the same.
Source/publisher: United Nations Expanded Theme Group on HIV/AIDS
2005-10-19
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "The purpose of the Joint Programme for HIV/AIDS: Myanmar, 2003-2005, is to strengthen the enabling environment and supporting capacity for prevention and care of HIV/AIDS in Myanmar. This will be done in support of the National Strategic Plan for the expansion and upgrading of HIV/AIDS activities in Myanmar 2001-2005, of the National Health Plan and of the operational plans of implementing partners for this period. The success of this programme will build towards the establishment of an effective multisectoral response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic and in the longer term the mitigation of the health and socioeconomic impact on the people of Myanmar..." CHAPTER 1 Programme Background and Rationale: 1.1 HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Myanmar; 1.2 Programme Approach; 1.3 Implementing Partners... CHAPTER 2 Joint Programme Objectives (The Logical Framework)... CHAPTER 3 Component Strategies of the Joint Programme: 3.1 Sexual Transmission of HIV; 3.2 Injecting Drug Use; 3.3 Knowledge and Attitudes; 3.4 Care, Treatment and Support for People Living with HIV/AIDS; 3.5 Enabling Environment... CHAPTER 4 Implementation Arrangements: 4.1 Management and Coordination Arrangements; 4.2 Establishing the Monitoring and Evaluation Framework; CHAPTER 5 Financing the Joint Programme... ANNEXES: Annex 1 United Nations Expanded Theme Group on HIV/AIDS: Purpose and Terms of Reference; Annex 2 Technical Working Group on HIV/AIDS: Purpose and Terms of Reference; Annex 3 UNAIDS Secretariat: Purpose and Scope of Work in Relation to the Joint Programme... Annex 4 Proposed Joint Programme Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (Core Indicator Set)... Annex 5 Monitoring Schedule for the Joint Programme... Annex 6 Fund for HIV/AIDS in Myanmar (FHAM)... Annex 7 References.
Source/publisher: UNAIDS
2004-07-15
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Executive Summary: "The HIV epidemics in Myanmar remain largely concentrated among people identified with high-risk behaviours, in particular sex workers and their clients, injecting drug users and men having sex with men; and populations identified as highly vulnerable on the basis of their young age, gender, mobility and social or occupational characteristics. This focus of the epidemics calls for the urgent strengthening of prevention, care and treatment programmes addressing primarily the needs of these populations. The responses to the HIV epidemic to date have been diverse and great sources of learning, and demonstrated the capacity to respond to the HIV epidemic successfully in Myanmar, but are not being implemented to a scale sufficiently enough to slow down the epidemic or mitigate its impact. Confronting an unabated HIV epidemic, the Government of Myanmar decided to embark on a comprehensive prevention, care and treatment strategy which would build on the experience and enrol the participation of all actors committed to this goal. Accordingly, this National Strategic Plan was the first in Myanmar developed using participator y processes, with direct involvement of all sectors involved in the national response to the HIV epidemic. Contributions were made by the Ministry of Health, several other government ministries, United Nations entities, local non-government organizations, international non-government organizations, people living with HIV and people from vulnerable groups. The National Strategic Plan 2006 ?€? 2010 was prepared following a series of reviews which looked at the progress and experiences of activities during the first half of the decade. These included a midterm review of the Joint Programme for HIV/ AIDS in 2005 and a review of the National AIDS Programme in 2006, as well as many diverse studies and reviews of particular programmes and projects. The National Strategic Plan identifies what is now required to improve national and local responses, bring partners together to reinforce the effectiveness of all responses, and build more effective management, coordination, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. It builds on current responses, identifies initiatives which are working and need to be scaled up to have maximum impact, builds on key principles which will underline the national response, outlines broadly the approaches to be used for prevention, treatment, care and support, and delineates strategic directions and activity areas to be further developed in order to mitigate the impact of the epidemic. Ambitious service delivery targets have been set, aiming towards ? to prevention and care services. The National Strategic Plan is composed of two parts: Part One, presenting background information, aim, objectives, key principles, strategic directions, approaches and information on roles of participating entities and coordinating mechanisms; and Part Two, presenting, for each strategic direction activity area, outcomes, outputs, indicators and targets. The subsequent formulation of a Plan of Operations and accompanying budgets will translate key principles and broad directions set out in the strategic plan into a directly actionable and costed plan relevant to all aspects of the national response to HIV and to all partners in this unprecedented effort. Building on previous experiences and lessons learned by all partners about what works best in the specific context of Myanmar, the National Strategic Plan identifies the key principles underpinning both the plan itself and its future implementation. Among these are: the adherence to the "Three Ones" principles ?€? One HIV and AIDS Action Framework; one National Coordinating Authority; and one Monitoring and Evaluation System ?€? the participation of people living with HIV in every aspect and at every stage of the strategy, a primary emphasis on outcomes, defined as targeted behaviour changes and use of services; and a focus on the Township level with selected "Accelerated Townships" receiving support towards accelerated programme implementation. Key principles bring into focus populations at higher risk and vulnerability and with the greatest needs, ensuring that their needs are met to the maximum extent possible and that their participation in activities concerning them is secured. The development and implementation of an enabling environment is central to this approach, recognizing the negative effects that lack of information, inequality, discrimination and non-participation have on the reduction of HIV related risk and vulnerability. The strategy will strive to scale up programme coverage and use of services to the maximum achievable levels of resource availability and implementing capacity. It will build on evidence as strategic information guides decision and action and will achieve value for money as financial and other resources are incrementally mobilized and efficiently used. Working across sectors of government will gradually expand as capacity is built. The strategy will rely on collaboration between government and other public, private and non-government entities while mechanisms for coordination at the central and peripheral levels are enhanced. The National Strategic Plan for Myanmar aims at reducing HIV transmission and HIV related morbidity, mortality, disability and social and economic impact. Its objectives are to: reduce HIV transmission and vulnerability, particularly among people at highest risk; improve the quality and length of life of people living with HIV through treatment, care and support; and mitigate the social, cultural and economic impacts of the epidemic. Strategic directions are primarily defined on the basis of beneficiary populations. They include the reduction of HIV-related risk, vulnerability and impact among sex workers and their clients, men who have sex with men, drug users, partners and families of people living with HIV, institutionalized populations, mobile populations, uniformed services personnel, young people, individuals in the workplace and, more generally, men and women of reproductive age. They strive to meet the needs of people living with HIV for comprehensive care, support and treatment through the scaling up of services and use of a participatory approach. In order to expand the ability of all actors to engage fully in this collaborative effort, strategic directions also include the enhancement of the capacity of health systems and the strengthening of comprehensive monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. This National Strategic Plan is a living document: it lends itself to adjustments and revisions as further experience is gained, resources are mobilized and evidence of success and shortcomings is generated through monitoring, special studies and mid-term and end-of-term evaluations."
Source/publisher: Ministry of Health, Union of Myanmar
2007-02-23
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: A new report, titled ?Out Of Control 2?, issued by the Southeast Asian Information Network [SAIN] shows the involvement of Burmese regime officials in narcotics trafficking and the correlation of increased drug trade and rising HIV/AIDS rates in Burma and beyond its borders. The report states that the last several years have produced a mounting body of evidence indicating high-level involvement of some junta members in the illicit narcotics industry. Routes and methods of transportation and export of Burmese narcotics are described in this report.
Source/publisher: Southeast Asia Information Network (SAIN)
1998-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "A Situation Assessment of Drug Use in Asia in thecontext of HIV/AIDS". Includes a section on Burma/Myanmar (see extract)
Creator/author: Gary Reid, Genevieve Costigan
Source/publisher: The Centre for Harm Reduction, The Burnet Institute, Australia
2002-01-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "... * Modelling of HIV data show that HIV prevalence in Myanmar peaked in 2001-2002 and has been slowly declining since then. The HIV incidence peaked a few years earlier and is also showing a slow decline. * Like in other Asian countries, there are three distinct waves of the epidemic. The first group to be affected was the injecting drug users. Next, the sex workers and their male clients were most affected. Finally, transmission from male clients to their wives/other female partners resulted in lower-risk female population being increasingly infected. Although a large number of low-risk female have become infected, IDUs, MSM and sex workers continue to have the highest incidence rate of HIV infection. * In 2009, an estimated 238,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS. The adult HIV prevalence is 0.61%. * Currently, there are approximately 17,000 new HIV infections each year. Nearly 60% of all new infections are among sex workers and their clients, MSMs and IDUs. * The number of AIDS deaths is showing a downward trend since 2005. Currently, there are approximately 17,500 AIDS deaths per year. * Roughly 74,000 (including old and new persons needing treatment) people in Myanmar are currently in need of antiretroviral care and this number will continue to increase over the next years as more people are put under ART. * Roughly 4,300 HIV-positive women will give birth annually. As PMCT programme expand, fewer number of children will be born with HIV. Approximately 1,900 children are in need of ART in 2009..."
Source/publisher: National AIDS Programme, Myanmar
2010-09-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-09-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 666.84 KB
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Description: "...In the 1990s, Min Thura regularly shared needles with other drug users in Mandalay. "About 50 drug users were queuing up and giving their arms to inject heroin with only one needle. Many of my friends with whom I shared needles to inject drugs have already died," said Min Thura, who has been clean for four years. Now, he said, there is more awareness about HIV and clean needles..."
Source/publisher: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN)
2010-06-25
Date of entry/update: 2010-08-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Opium poppy has been cultivated in Myanmar for more than a century. Farmers have traditionally relied on its cultivation to offset rice deficits and to purchase basic goods. Opium has also been used as a painkiller and to alleviate the symptoms associated with diarrhoea, cough and other ailments. Additionally, the use of opium as medicine is often exacerbated by the lack of access to health care services. As the production and consumption of drugs are often linked, opiates remain the most widely used illicit drug within the country, with approximately an even split between heroin and opium use. In recent years, however, there appears to be a trend away from the traditional smoking of opium to injecting heroin. Moreover, the use of Amphetamine- Type Stimulants (ATS), especially by young people, is rapidly increasing. Drug use is considered in many countries as a criminal offence, often driving it underground, where users remain hidden and unmonitored. The stigma and marginalisation frequently experienced by drug users often means that they are excluded from access to medical services. The consequences of drug use on society are numerous and include, adverse effects on health; crime, violence and corruption; draining of human, natural and financial resources that might otherwise be used for social and economic development; erosion of individual, family and community ties; and undermining of political, cultural, social and economic structures. The situation is made even more critical by the economic hardships many drug users experience. This is certainly the case in Myanmar. In addition, injecting drug use and the sharing of equipment is an extremely high-risk behaviour in relation to HIV transmission..."
Source/publisher: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) - Myanmar Country Office
2007-04-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-06-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Abstract (provisional): Background: The severity of HIV/AIDS pandemic linked to injecting drug use is one of the most worrying medical and social problems throughout the world in recent years. Myanmar has one of the highest prevalence rates of HIV among the IDUs in the region. Aim The objective of the study was to determine the risk behaviours among HIV positive injecting drug users in Myanmar... Methods: A non matched case control study was conducted among 217 respondents registered with a non governmental organization's harm reduction center. 78 HIV positive IDUs were used as cases and 139 non HIV positive IDUs as controls. The study was conducted between April-May 2009. Data was analysed using SPSS version 15 and the study was ethically conducted... Results: Factors like age, marital status, age first used drugs, drug use expenditure, reason for drug use, age first used injection were found to be significant. Other risk factors found significantly associated with HIV among IDU were education (OR 2.3), location of respondent (OR 2.4) type of syringe first used (OR 5.1), sharing syringe at the first injection (OR 4.5) and failure of drug detoxification programme (OR 4.9). More HIV positive IDUs were returning used syringes in the centre (OR 3.3)... Conclusions: Prudent measures such as access to sterile syringes and continuous health education programmes among IDUs and their sexual partners are required to reduce high risk behaviours of IDUs in Myanmar.
Creator/author: Lin A Swe, Kay K Nyo, A K Rashid
Source/publisher: Harm Reduction Journal 2010, 7:12
2010-06-02
Date of entry/update: 2010-06-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Power-point presentation at a Round Table Discussion on the Occasion of International Women?s Day 2010
Source/publisher: UNAIDS
2010-03-08
Date of entry/update: 2010-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : ppt
Size: 492.5 KB
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Description: "...The Union of Myanmar UNGASS 2010 Report has been posted on HIV Information for Myanmar http://him.civiblog.org/blog/_archives/2010/4/6/4498792.html and was posted in [him] 1166. The [him] moderator has not heard that a shadow report will be produced. Who would risk writing one? In the absence of a shadow report the [him] moderator would like to offer these observations on the only official report on HIV that will come from the Government of Myanmar this year. The following comments are not meant to be a criticism of those who did all the hard work in producing the report. But publication of the report offers an opportunity for us all to get closer to truth..."
Creator/author: HIV Information for Myanmar [him] moderator.
Source/publisher: HIV Information for Myanmar [him]
2010-04-21
Date of entry/update: 2010-04-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 59.22 KB
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Description: "The HIV epidemic in Myanmar is concentrated, with HIV transmission primarily occurring in high risk sexual contacts between sex workers and their clients, men who have sex with men and the sexual partners of these sub-populations. In addition, there is a high level of HIV transmission among injecting drug users through use of contaminated injecting equipment, with transmission to sexual partners. Latest modelling estimated the HIV prevalence in the adult population (aged 15-49) at 0.61% in 2009. For key populations most-at-risk, surveillance data from 2008 showed HIV prevalence in the sentinel groups at 18.1% in female sex workers, 28.8% in men who have sex with men, and 36.3% in male injecting drug users. It is estimated that around 238,000 people are living with HIV in Myanmar in 2009, of whom 74,000 are in need of antiretroviral therapy. In the same year, an estimated 17,000 people died of AIDS-related illness. Incidence is estimated at well above 10,000 new infections per year, confirming the continuing need for effective prevention efforts, with increased emphasis on reaching long term female sexual partners of male most at risk populations..."
Source/publisher: National AIDS Programme
2010-03-31
Date of entry/update: 2010-04-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Thailand has experienced some degree of success in preventing uncontrolled spread of HIV, and in providing effective care for persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA). Nevertheless, HIV transmission is still occurring, especially among those less fortunate who migrate to seek economic opportunity. A prime example of this are the lower-income populations of some of Thailand?s neighbors who come to work on fishing boats or in the fishery industry of Thailand. The vulnerability of these populations comes from their relative lack of knowledge and understanding of HIV prevention and tendency to engage in higher risk sexual behavior than when in their home communities of origin. To address these vulnerabilities, the Prevention of HIV/AIDS among Migrant Workers in Thailand Project (PHAMIT) was conceived and implemented by the Raks Thai Foundation in collaboration with six NGO partners including: Empower Foundation, the Foundation for AIDS Rights (FAR), World Vision Foundation/Thailand, the Stella Maris Seafarers Center, the MAP Foundation, and the Pattanarak Foundation. Funding for the Project was provided by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) with the goal to lower the incidence of HIV among foreign migrant workers in Thailand through communication strategies to reduce risk behaviors and support access from migrants to general health and reproductive health services. The Project was implemented during 2003-2008. In order to independently assess the performance of the PHAMIT Project compared to its targets and objectives, the Raks Thai Foundation contracted with the Institute for Population and Social Research (IPSR) of Mahidol University to conduct a final Project evaluation in 2008. IPSR would like to express its gratitude to Mr. Promboon Panitchapakdi, Executive Director of the Raks Thai Foundation for entrusting this important evaluation to the researchers of IPSR. It is our hope that the findings of this evaluation will be of benefit to the Project implementers, the PHAMIT partners in the field who will continue to deliver the interventions, and to any persons interested in conducting evaluation research of this type."
Creator/author: Aphichat Chamratrithirong Wathinee Boonchalaksi
Source/publisher: Institute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol University
2009-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-03-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: 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..."
Creator/author: Phyu Phyu Thin
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 18, No. 2
2010-02-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-02-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: "...[T]his assessment examines mobility and HIV vulnerability among Myanmar migrants in Mae Sot District, Tak Province, Thailand. Environmental and social factors, service access, knowledge, and behavioural vulnerabilities, along with gender issues, stigma and discrimination, are addressed. Undertaken from December 2005 through April 2006, this assessment aims to assist the Royal Thai Government (RTG) and partners to develop more effective policies and programmes for preventing HIV transmission, and to improve access to HIV and AIDS treatment and care among selected Myanmar migrants. The assessment team employed a collaborative qualitative and quantitative research approach to assess HIV vulnerability among migrant sex workers and migrant factory workers. A total of six focus group discussions were conducted with both direct and indirect sex workers, while six and four focus group discussions were conducted with male and female factory workers respectively. Eight individual interviews with direct and indirect sex workers were completed. Key informants and gatekeepers were consulted and snowball sampling was used to establish the appropriate groups or individuals for interview. The quantitative component of the assessment was designed using probability proportionate to size (PPS) sampling methodology, and a pre-tested questionnaire was consequently administered to 819 migrant factory workers between the ages of 15 and 49 in 12 factories in Mae Sot District. There were 312 male and 507 female respondents, all of Myanmar origin. Through the research, the assessment team learned that migrants arrive in Thailand with little or no knowledge about HIV/AIDS and sexual health, and in some cases basic knowledge of reproductive health. Though training and outreach programmes have reached some of the factory worker and sex worker populations, knowledge remains at a very basic level and is predominantly disseminated by friends and siblings who attended various trainings. The qualitative and quantitative findings show that most of those demonstrating some knowledge of HIV/AIDS were merely reiterating what was disseminated during the outreach. Important knowledge and some behavioural gaps persist. From as far as Sagaing in central Myanmar to just across the bridge in Myawaddy, migrants working at the factories of Mae Sot District are from diverse areas within Myanmar. The largest numbers, however, are from Mawlamyaing and Bago in Kayin State, in the eastern region of Myanmar. The driving forces behind the migration of the predominantly rural Myanmar population to Mae Sot District include financial difficulties back home due to debt, death or sickness, and the hope for a better life in the future. 1 Some of those who arrive in Myawaddy are brought to the Thai side of the border through the employment of ?carriers” or brokers (commonly referred to as gae-ri in Bamar or nai nah in Thai), who offer migrants job placement opportunities that would otherwise be almost impossible to achieve without a contact. Under such schemes, female migrants are particularly vulnerable to exploitation. There is evidence to suggest that brokers provide the initial capital for the women to migrate to Thailand and then sell them to a karaoke bar or brothel. The women are then bound to work off the amount of money that was paid by the brothel to the broker. Though factory work is certainly the most sought after type of employment, it is not consistently available. Many migrants are forced to wait several months for positions or find other endeavours as day labourers, farmhands, construction workers or housemaids, or simply return home. The ultimate goal for the majority of migrants working in Thailand is to accumulate enough capital to eventually return home to family and friends and use that capital for commercial pursuits. Should such pursuits fail, the individual often considers returning to Thailand. Sex workers are vulnerable to HIV primarily due to the high risk of their profession. Indirect sex workers (those working out of a karaoke bar, restaurant or freelance) are particularly vulnerable because information and services do not reach them. Conversely, factory workers demonstrated little vulnerability to HIV due to their sparse amount of free time, restriction of movement outside the factory compound, lack of extramarital sex, conservative social values and lack of disposable income. Their lack of knowledge with respect to HIV/AIDS and sexual health, however, creates some vulnerability. These findings could be confirmed by results from studies in other provinces/countries with migrants from other countries such as Lao PDR. Efforts need to be increased to provide culturally appropriate HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infection (STI) information to migrants, using strategies that facilitate analysis of personal risk perception. Health-care providers require improved sensitivity to the basic needs of migrants, including respect for confidentiality in the clinical setting. The importance of the public sector in providing STI, HIV and reproductive health services to migrants cannot be overemphasized. Migrants express a clear preference for STI treatment in the public health sector because they can better remain anonymous in the clinical Thai setting. Many direct sex workers (brothel-based sex workers) are already assisted through regular check-ups at Mae Sot General Hospital. Factory workers and sex workers involved in the study trust government health-care providers over nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and community-based organizations. Great impact can be made by strengthening collaboration between government health-care providers and both the private sector and the migrants themselves. Migrant community health workers working under the direction of the health authorities can be an effective mechanism (e.g., the IOM-Ministry of Public Health [MOPH] Migrant Health 2 Programme model). Sensitivity, confidentiality and communication skills of public sector health-care providers should be strengthened for improved impact. Moreover, existing programmes (e.g., the hospital?s STI clinic) could be strengthened to ensure that migrants receive appropriate referral to an array of government and NGO services locally available. During the study it was clear that the agencies working on HIV-related programmes are neither communicating regularly nor cooperating effectively with one another. A strengthened coordination mechanism is warranted wherein government, NGO, and private sector stakeholders can improve transparency, share materials and information, strengthen referral networks and create improved working relationships. Although the study faced several obstacles, particularly regarding issues on access to targeted populations which affected the representativeness of the study sampling, the research team had used the best of their knowledge and skills in minimizing the study bias. It is the hope of the assessment team that the information contained within this study will assist in informing policy makers and implementers in improving STIs/HIV programmes for migrants in Mae Sot District and elsewhere in Thailand.
Source/publisher: International Organisation for Migration (IOM), UNAIDS
2007-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2009-11-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Explanatory notes... Introduction... 1. Overview: 1.1. Background; 1.2. Institutionalized Population; 1.3. Human Trafficking; 1.4. UNODC Strategy; 1.5. United Nations Division of Labour; 1.6. UNODC Drugs and HIV/AIDS Policy; 1.7. HIV/AIDS Situation in Myanmar; 1.8. IDU and DU Situation in the Country; 1.9. Legal Environment; 1.10. Myanmar National Drugs and HIV/AIDS Strategy; 1.11. UNODC Country Office Myanmar Strategy... 2. Drugs and HIV/AIDS Country Programme: 2.1. Scope of the Programme; 2.2. Mission Statement; 2.3. Guiding Principles; 2.4. How We Work; 2.5. What Has to Be Achieved?; 2.6. Objectives and Strategies of the Country Programme; 2.6.1. Coverage; 2.6.2. Strategic Information; 2.6.3. Mainstreaming; 2.7. The Work Plan for 2009-2010; 2.8. Coordination and Partnership; 2.9. Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation; 2.9.1. Planning and Reporting; 2.9.2. Monitoring and Evaluation; 2.9.2.1. Monitoring; 2.9.2.2. Evaluation... Bibliography... Tables: Table 1. Programme Portfolio
Source/publisher: Drug Demand Reduction, Drugs and HIV/AIDS Unit , United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Country Office Myanmar
2008-12-00
Date of entry/update: 2009-06-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.42 MB
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Description: Contents: 1. Background... 2. Methodology... 3. Findings: 3.1 HSS(2008) results; 3.1.1 Sample collection; 3.1.2 HIV prevalence by sentinel population; 3.1.3 HIV prevalence by sex and age; 3.1.4 HIV prevalence by place of residence and marital status; 3.2. Results of syphilis screening... 4. Trends over time: 4.1. HIV prevalence among low risk population 1992-2008; 4.2. HIV prevalence among most at risk population 1992-2008; 4.3. HIV prevalence among young population aged 15-24 years... 5. Decentralization of testing... 6. Limitations... 7. Recommendations... Annexes: Annex 1: Total number of blood samples collected during HSS 2008 round... Annex 2: Results of 2008 HIV prevalence (%) per sentinel population and per sites... Annex 3: HIV prevalence by age group... Annex 4: Site specific sero-positive rates(%) and sample size (n) for each sentinel group HSS-2008... Annex 5: Prevalence of syphilis (VDRL+) per sentinel population and per site.
Source/publisher: Ministry of Health, Union of Myanmar, World Health Organisation
2009-03-00
Date of entry/update: 2009-05-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 805.19 KB
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Description: Indicators, estimates (disaggregated), demographic and socio-economic data, HIV sentinel surveillance prevalence tables and maps, Health services and care indicators, ARV data, prevention indicators, HIV surveillance prevalence by site (1990-2006)...
Source/publisher: UNAIDS
2009-02-18
Date of entry/update: 2009-02-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: This Material is an adaptation of ?The Testing and Counseling for Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (TC for PMTCT) Support Tools” initially developed by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (HHS-CDC), Global AIDS Program (GAP), in collaboration with the Department of HIV/AIDS at the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children?s Fund (UNICEF), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This material combines ?Antenatal Pre-Test Session Flipchart” and ?Antenatal Post-Test Session Flipchart” into one single original document, available in Burmese as well as in Karen language. This Flipchart was especially designed and developed to fit the geographical, ethnic and social context of Thai-Burmese border?s refugee camps. This adaptation was made under the supervision of AMI (Aide Médicale Internationale) in Mae Sot, Thailand.
Source/publisher: Aide Medicale Internationale (AMI)
2008-12-00
Date of entry/update: 2009-02-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Burmese
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 7.6 MB 9.07 MB
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Description: This Material is an adaptation of ?The Testing and Counseling for Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (TC for PMTCT) Support Tools” initially developed by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (HHS-CDC), Global AIDS Program (GAP), in collaboration with the Department of HIV/AIDS at the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children?s Fund (UNICEF), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This material combines ?Antenatal Pre-Test Session Flipchart” and ?Antenatal Post-Test Session Flipchart” into one single original document, available in Burmese as well as in Karen language. This Flipchart was especially designed and developed to fit the geographical, ethnic and social context of Thai-Burmese border?s refugee camps. This adaptation was made under the supervision of AMI (Aide Médicale Internationale) in Mae Sot, Thailand.
Source/publisher: Aide Medicale Internationale (AMI)
2008-12-00
Date of entry/update: 2009-02-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Karen
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 7.25 MB 8.7 MB
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Description: Various statistics, including prevention of mother-child transmission of HIV; Number of HIV+ pregnant women receiving ARVs for PMTCT; Number of children in need receiving ART... UNICEF, WHO and UNAIDS, Children and AIDS: Country fact sheets
Source/publisher: UNAIDS
2006-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2009-02-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "The Costed Operational Plan for the National Strategic Plan is now available. It is a vital reference document" (HIM)..."The National Strategic Plan on HIV and AIDS 2006-2010 provides the strategic framework of action including priority setting for resource allocation. The associated operational plan specifies the agreed targets and the costs for each of the 13 strategic directions of the National Strategic Plan. The plan intends to guide the implementation of all HIV related activities and services in the country. It addresses all stakeholders from all constituencies. The Operational Plan 2008-2010 is composed of the following elements: 1. detailed strategic directions 1 to 13 including the following elements: a. indicators with targets b. summary of progress, resource needs and future priorities c. costed package of services, costs per year and cost component as well as total costs d. geographical priorities where available 2. a summary budget including expected funding available and gaps in funding 3. the complete monitoring framework, including baseline data, and targets by year. This Operational Plan is in an achievement of the Technical and Strategy Group for HIV and AIDS (TSG) and its associated Working Groups: 1. Care, treatment and support working group 2. Drug users working group 3. Executive working group 4. Mobile populations working group 5. Orphans and vulnerable children working group 6. Prevention of mother-to-child transmission working group 7. Sexual transmission working group (Sex workers and men who have sex with men) 8. Youth working group Furthermore, a peer review of the Operational Plan by the AIDS Strategy and Action Plan (ASAP ? hosted by the World Bank on behalf of UNAIDS) provided useful comments for improvement of the structure and content of the plan. The reviewers found the operational plan among the best they had seen. Some of the shortcomings that have been communicated and subsequently addressed are: • the governance structure is explained • the monitoring and evaluation framework and the costing parts have been aligned • the business plan has been reviewed and inconsistencies addressed • the targets have been reviewed and adapted in the context of past achievements, continuing constraints and arising opportunities • costing has been reviewed extensively by the working groups The operational plan does not include specific activities, since it is intended to provide broad guidance to the implementers. Likewise, the national, annual targets express approximately the cumulative national implementation capacity. These fall in many cases short of targets that would be set under an Universal Access scenario. This reflects the particular funding situation of Myanmar where funding constraints are an overwhelming challenge to scale up..."
Source/publisher: Ministry of Health, Union of Myanmar
2009-01-00
Date of entry/update: 2009-01-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.14 MB
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Description: The handing over of money to the international NGOs, UN agencies, Burma's government (I use the term loosely) and the Burmese NGOs does not mean that the resources are used effectively and efficiently for the people of Burma. Uncovering the performance of aid - that is its cost effectiveness and its impact on the intended recipients is not necessarily an easy task. It is also a task made more difficult by the poor quality of the information generally provided by the donors and the recipient organisations.
Source/publisher: Burma Economic Watch blog
2008-07-11
Date of entry/update: 2008-11-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Executive Summary: The situation for many people living with HIV in Myanmar is critical due to a severe lack of lifesaving antiretroviral treatment (ART). MSF currently provides ART to more than 11,000 people. That is the majority of all available treatment countrywide but only a small fraction of what is urgently needed. For five years MSF has continually developed its HIV/AIDS programme to respond to the extensive needs, whilst the response of both the Government of Myanmar and the international community has remained minimal. MSF should not bear the main responsibility for one of Asia?s most serious HIV/AIDS epidemics. Pushed to its limit by the lack of other services providing ART, MSF has had to make the painful decision to restrict the number of new patients it can treat. With few options to refer new patients for treatment elsewhere, the situation is dire. An estimated 240,000 people are currently infected with HIV in Myanmar. 76,000 of these people are in urgent need of ART, yet less than 20 % of them receive it through the combined efforts of MSF, other international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the Government of Myanmar. For the remaining people the private market offers little assistance as the most commonly used first-line treatment costs the equivalent of a month?s average wage. The lack of accessible treatment resulted in 25,000 AIDS related deaths in 2007 and a similar number of people are expected to suffer the same fate this year, unless HIV/AIDS services - most importantly the provision of ART - are urgently scaled-up. The Government of Myanmar and the International Community need to mobilize quickly in order to address this situation. Currently, the Government spends a mere 0.3% of the gross domestic product on health, the lowest amount worldwide4, a small portion of which goes to HIV/AIDS. Likewise, overseas development aid for Myanmar is the second lowest per capita worldwide and few of the big international donors provide any resources to the country. Yet, 189 member states of the United Nations, including Myanmar, endorsed the Millennium Development Goals, including the aim to ?Achieve universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those who need it, by 2010”. As it stands, this remains a far cry from becoming a reality in Myanmar. As an MSF ART patient in Myanmar stated, ?All people must have a spirit of humanity in helping HIV patients regardless of nation, organization or government. We are all human beings so we must help each other”. Unable to continue shouldering the primary responsibility for responding to one of Asia?s worst HIV crises, MSF insists that the Government of Myanmar and international organizations urgently and rapidly scale-up ART provision. A vast gulf exists between the needs related to HIV/AIDS and the services provided. Unless ART provision is rapidly scaled-up many more people will needlessly suffer and die.
Source/publisher: Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)
2008-11-00
Date of entry/update: 2008-11-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 735.15 KB
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Description: TABLE OF CONTENTS: INTRODUCTION 11... STRATEGIC DIRECTION 1 : SEX WORKERS AND7 THEIR CLIENTS 13... STRATEGIC DRIECTION 2 : MEN WHO HAVE SEX WITH MEN (MSM) 19... STRATEGIC DIRECTION 3 : DRUG USERS 23... STRATEGIC DIRECTION 4 : PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV, THEIR PARTNERS AND FAMILIES 29... STRATEGIC DIRECTION 5 : INSTITUTIONALIZED POPULATIONS 31... STRATEGIC DIRECTION 6 : MOBILE POPULATION 33... STRATEGIC DIRECTION 7 : UNIFORMED SERVICES 35... STRATEGIC DIRECTION 8 : YOUNG PEOPLE 37... STRATEGIC DIRECTION 9 : WORKPLACE 41... STRATEGIC DIRECTION 10 : PREVENTION FOR WOMEN AND MEN OF REPRODUCTIVE AGE 43... STRATEGIC DIRECTION 11 : COMPREHENSIVE CARE, SUPPORT AND TREATMENT 47... STRATEGIC DIRECTION 12 : ENHANCING THE CAPACITY OF THE HEALTH SYSTEM 55... STRATEGIC DIRECTION 13 : MONITORING AND EVALUATION 57... FINANCIAL RESOURCES AND EXPENDITURES 61... ANNEX � Achievements in states and divisions.....FIGURES: Figure 1 Number of townships covered by 100% Targeted Condom Promotion programme (n=324) 16; Figure 2 Male condom distribution (free and social marketing) 1999-2006 - Myanmar 17; Figure 3 Number of Injecting Drug Users reached by Drop in Centre and outreach program 25; Figure 4 Number of drug users reached in 2006 25; Figure 5 Number of needles and syringes distributed to IDUs in 2006 26; Figure 6 Number of mobile population reported by prevention activities in different states and divisions 34; Figure 7 People received test results and post-test counselling 45; Figure 8 Syphilis prevalence from ANC data � 1997-2006 45; Figure 9 Service Delivery Points run and supported by partners 46; Figure 10 Total number of people receiving ART � 2002-2006 48; Figure 11 Number of people receiving ART by age and gender - 2006 48; Figure 12 PMCT implementing areas in 2006 51; Figure 13 Number of pregnant women accessing VCCT 2003-2006 51; Figure 14 Number of mother-baby pairs receiving Nevirapine 2000-2006 52; Figure 15 Number of people receiving home based care � 2000-2006 53; Figure 16 HIV prevalence trends for injecting drug users, male patients with sexually transmitted infections, female sex workers and tuberculosis patients 57; Figure 17 HIV prevalence trends for pregnant women attending antenatal care, blood donors and military recruits 58; Figure 18 Percentage and number reported AIDS cases � 1993-2006 59; Figure 19 Estimated resource needs and availability � 2004-2008 61..... TABLES: Table 1 Priority ranking of the Strategic Directions of the National Strategic Plan 12; Table 2 Condoms distributed by partners 17; Table 3 Men who have sex with men reached in top 10; townships - 2006 20; Table 4 Number of persons in institutions reached by health education programmes 32; Table 5 Number of mobile population reached by organisation - 2006 34; Table 6 Out of school youth reached by all partners by state and division � 200638 Table 7 Number of people reached through workplace interventions by partner � 2006 42; Table 8 People reached through workplace interventions by state and division � 2006 42; Table 9 Number of PLHIV receiving ARV 49; Table 10 Treatment and prophylaxis of opportunistic infections � 2006 50; Table 11 People receiving home based care 53; Table 12 Orphans and vulnerable children supported by state and division - 2006 54.....MAPS: Map 1 Sex workers reached by township (total n=36,000 reached as reported by NGOs) 15; Map 2 Condoms distributed through 18; Map 3 Condoms for free distributed by 18 Map 4 Men who have sex with men reached by township (n=28,566) - 2006 21; Map 5 Location of Drop-in Centres for drug users - 2006 26; Map 6 Location of ART sites 49; Map 7 Geographical location of PMCT sites - 2006 52...... COVERAGE ON NATIONAL RESPONSE - State and Division: Myanmar 66; Ayeyarwady Division 67; Bago Division 68; Chin State 69; Kachin State 70; Kayar State 71; Kayin State 72; Magway Division 73; Mandalay Division 74; Mon State 75; Rakhine State 76; Sagaing Division 77; Shan State 78; Tanintharyi Diision 79; Yangon Division 80.
Source/publisher: National AIDS Control Programme, Myanmar Dept. of Health
2008-10-00
Date of entry/update: 2008-10-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.43 MB
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Description: HIV/AIDS education efforts face many obstacles... "Gasps rippled through the group of young people gathered for a workshop on HIV/AIDS prevention and education in the former capital Rangoon. The girls covered their eyes, and the boys sent nervous glances anywhere but at the front of the room, where an instructor stood before an upright model penis. Condoms on sale at a market stall in Rangoon [Photo: Pat Brown] ?Look at it, please,” the workshop leader urged. ?How can you learn to protect yourself against HIV if you are too shy to watch a demonstration about how to use a condom?” This kind of response to condom education is typical in Burma, where an estimated 360,000 people currently live with HIV, according to a UNAIDS report in 2006. Today, condoms can be easily obtained in retail shops in Rangoon and other major cities in Burma. But the country?s predominantly conservative culture can make them a difficult sell. ?I don?t sell condoms in my store any more because many of my staff are young girls who find it difficult to sell them,” said a shop owner in Kyeemyindaing..."
Creator/author: Htet Aung
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol 15, No. 9
2007-09-00
Date of entry/update: 2008-05-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Conclusion: "Boatmen in Teknaf are an integral part of a high-risk sexual behaviour network between Myanmar and Bangladesh. They are at risk of obtaining HIV infection due to cross border mobility and unsafe sexual practices. There is an urgent need for designing interventions targeting boatmen in Teknaf to combat an impending epidemic of HIV among this group. They could be included in the serological surveillance as a vulnerable group. Interventions need to address issues on both sides of the border, other vulnerable groups, and refugees. Strong political will and cross border collaboration is mandatory for such interventions."
Creator/author: Rukhsana Gazi, Alec Mercer, Tanyaporn Wansom, Humayun Kabir, Nirod Chandra Saha, Tasnim Azim
Source/publisher: Conflict and Health 2008, 2:5
2008-03-14
Date of entry/update: 2008-04-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 154.03 KB
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Description: Abstract: "Decades of neglect and abuses by the Burmese government have decimated the health of the peoples of Burma, particularly along her eastern frontiers, overwhelmingly populated by ethnic minorities such as the Shan. Vast areas of traditional Shan homelands have been systematically depopulated by the Burmese military regime as part of its counter-insurgency policy, which also employs widespread abuses of civilians by Burmese soldiers, including rape, torture, and extrajudicial executions. These abuses, coupled with Burmese government economic mismanagement which has further entrenched already pervasive poverty in rural Burma, have spawned a humanitarian catastrophe, forcing hundreds of thousands of ethnic Shan villagers to flee their homes for Thailand. In Thailand, they are denied refugee status and its legal protections, living at constant risk for arrest and deportation. Classified as ?economic migrants,” many are forced to work in exploitative conditions, including in the Thai sex industry, and Shan migrants often lack access to basic health services in Thailand. Available health data on Shan migrants in Thailand already indicates that this population bears a disproportionately high burden of infectious diseases, particularly HIV, tuberculosis, lymphatic filariasis, and some vaccine-preventable illnesses, undermining progress made by Thailand?s public health system in controlling such entities. The ongoing failure to address the root political causes of migration and poor health in eastern Burma, coupled with the many barriers to accessing health programs in Thailand by undocumented migrants, particularly the Shan, virtually guarantees Thailand?s inability to sustainably control many infectious disease entities, especially along her borders with Burma."
Creator/author: Voravit Suwanvanichkij
Source/publisher: Conflict and Health 2008, 2:4
2008-03-14
Date of entry/update: 2008-04-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 169.63 KB
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Description: Abstract: "Myanmar is experiencing an HIV epidemic documented since the late 1980s. The National AIDS Programme national surveillance ante-natal clinics had already estimated in 1993 that 1.4% of pregnant women were HIV positive, and UNAIDS estimates that at end 2005 1.3% (range 0.7-2.0%) of the adult population was living with HIV. While a HIV surveillance system has been in place since 1992, the programmatic response to the epidemic has been slower to emerge although short- and medium-terms plans have been formulated since 1990. These early plans focused on the health sector, omitted key population groups at risk of HIV transmission and have not been adequately funded. The public health system more generally is severely under-funded. By the beginning of the new decade, a number of organisations had begun working on HIV and AIDS, though not yet in a formally coordinated manner. The Joint Programme on AIDS in Myanmar 2003- 2005 was an attempt to deliver HIV services through a planned and agreed strategic framework. Donors established the Fund for HIV/AIDS in Myanmar (FHAM), providing a pooled mechanism for funding and 2 significantly increasing the resources available in Myanmar. By 2006 substantial advances had been made in terms of scope and diversity of service delivery, including outreach to most at risk populations to HIV. More organisations provided more services to an increased number of people. Services ranged from the provision of HIV prevention messages via mass media and through peers from high-risk groups, to the provision of care, treatment and support for people living with HIV. However, the data also show that this scaling up has not been sufficient to reach the vast majority of people in need of HIV and AIDS services. The operating environment constrains activities, but does not, in general, prohibit them. The slow rate of service expansion can be attributed to the burdens imposed by administrative measures, broader constraints on research, debate and organizing, and insufficient resources. Nevertheless, evidence of recent years illustrates that increased investment leads to more services provided to people in need, helping them to obtain their right to health care. But service expansion, policy improvement and capacity building cannot occur without more resources."
Creator/author: Brian Williams, Daniel Baker, Markus Bühler, Charles Petrie.
Source/publisher: Conflict and Health 2008, 2:3
2008-03-14
Date of entry/update: 2008-04-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 235.95 KB
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Description: "Although political sanctions preclude Burma from consistent international financial contributions to HIV/AIDS, the first program to access ARV drugs for the HIV+/AIDS patients in the public sector has been funded by a private company: Yadana (Total and partners) and implemented by an international NGO: the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUTLD) also called "The Union". The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ministry of Health of Myanmar support this program. It started April 1st, 2005 at the General Hospital (MGH) of Mandalay the second largest city of the country where 7000 HIV+ patients are estimated to be in need of ARVs...."
Creator/author: Odile Picard
Source/publisher: Retrovirology. 2006; 3(Suppl 1): P75.
2006-12-21
Date of entry/update: 2008-01-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: INTRODUCTION: Clinical stages of HIV/AIDS for adults; UNHCR point of view on HIV/AIDS; The right to access to care... DIAGNOSIS: Voluntary Counselling and Testing: Are we doing it correctly or p with words?... MANAGEMENT: Antiretroviral therapy (ART); Nutrient requirements for people living with HIV/AIDS; Mycobacterium Tuberculosis infection in HIV/AIDS... SOCIAL: Responding to bad news including HIV/AIDS result; Stigmatization and discrimination; Home based care: A day as a home visitor and interview; Testimonial of people living with HIV/AIDS... PREVENTION: PMCT activities in Maela refugee camp; How to increase condom use? Cotrimoxazole prophylaxis and Glossary.
Source/publisher: Aide Medicale Internationale (AMI)
2005-09-00
Date of entry/update: 2007-10-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Burmese, English
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 4.04 MB 9.67 MB
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Creator/author: Dr., Saw Lwin
Source/publisher: Alindan Journal
2007-03-12
Date of entry/update: 2007-07-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Burmese
Format : pdf
Size: 1.03 MB
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Creator/author: Dr. Saw Lwin
Source/publisher: Alindan Journal
2007-02-05
Date of entry/update: 2007-07-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Burmese
Format : pdf
Size: 717.02 KB
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Description: A call for reform of UN agencies, including UNAIDS.
Creator/author: Dr. Saw Lwin
Source/publisher: Alindan Journal
2007-04-02
Date of entry/update: 2007-07-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Burmese, English
Format : pdf
Size: 49.39 KB
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Description: "HLAING THAYAR, MYANMAR (BURMA)--Myanmar has one of the worst HIV problems in Asia, fueled by a potent mix of injecting drug use and commercial sex work. Yet poverty and the country's military dictatorship pose formidable obstacles to doing battle against AIDS here. This story is part of a series on HIV/AIDS in Asia; the stories in this initial installment focus on Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand..."
Creator/author: Jon Cohen
Source/publisher: AIDScience -- American Association for the Advancement of Science.
2003-09-19
Date of entry/update: 2007-07-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Decades of repressive military rule, civil war, corruption, bad governance, isolation, and widespread violations of human rights and international humanitarian law have rendered Burma?s health care system incapable of responding effectively to endemic and emerging infectious diseases. Burma?s major infectious diseases—malaria, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis (TB)—are severe health problems in many areas of the country. Malaria is the most common cause of morbidity and mortality due to infectious disease in Burma. Eighty-nine percent of the estimated population of 52 million lived in malarial risk areas in 1994, with about 80 percent of reported infections due to Plasmodium falciparum, the most dangerous form of the disease. Burma has one of the highest TB rates in the world, with nearly 97,000 new cases detected each year.4 Drug resistance to both TB and malaria is rising, as is the broad availability of counterfeit antimalarial drugs. In June 2007, a TB clinic operated by Médecins Sans Frontières?France in the Thai border town of Mae Sot reported it had confirmed two cases of extensively drugresistant TB in Burmese migrants who had previously received treatment in Burma. Meanwhile, HIV/AIDS, once contained to high-risk groups in Burma, has spread to the general population, which is defined as a prevalence of 1 percent among reproductive-age adults.5 Meanwhile, the Burmese government spends less than 3 percent of national expenditures on health, while the military, with a standing army of over 400,000 troops, consumes 40 percent.6 By comparison, many of Burma?s neighbors spend considerably more on health: Thailand (6.1%7), China (5.6 %8), India (6.1%9), Laos (3.2%10), Bangladesh (3.4%11), and Cambodia (12%12).....The report recommends that: • The Burmese government develop a national health care system in which care is distributed effectively, equitably, and transparently. • The Burmese government increase its spending on health and education to confront the country?s long-standing health problems, especially the rise of drug-resistant malaria and tuberculosis. • The Burmese government rescind guidelines issued last year by the country?s Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development because these guidelines have restricted such organizations as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from providing relief in Burma. • The Burmese government allow ICRC to resume visits to prisoners without the requirement that ICRC doctors be accompanied by members of the Union Solidarity and Development Association or other organizations. • The Burmese government take immediate steps to halt the internal conflict and violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in eastern Burma that are creating an unprecedented number of internally displaced persons and facilitating the spread of infectious diseases in the region. • Foreign aid organizations and donors monitor and evaluate how aid to combat infectious diseases in Burma is affecting domestic expenditures on health and education. • Relevant national and local government agencies, United Nations agencies, NGOs establish a regional narcotics working group which would assess drug trends in the region and monitor the impact of poppy eradication programs on farming communities. • UN agencies, national and local governments, and international and local NGOs cooperate closely to facilitate greater information-sharing and collaboration among agencies and organizations working to lessen the burden of infectious diseases in Burma and its border regions. These institutions must develop a regional response to the growing problem of counterfeit antimalarial drugs."
Creator/author: Eric Stover, Voravit Suwanvanichkij, Andrew Moss, David Tuller, Thomas J. Lee, Emily Whichard, Rachel Shigekane, Chris Beyrer, David Scott Mathieson
Source/publisher: Human Rights Center, University of California, Berkeley; Center for Public Health and Human Rights, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
2007-07-00
Date of entry/update: 2007-06-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 5.15 MB
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Description: Executive Summary: "The HIV epidemics in Myanmar remain largely concentrated among people identified with high-risk behaviours, in particular sex workers and their clients, injecting drug users and men having sex with men; and populations identified as highly vulnerable on the basis of their young age, gender, mobility and social or occupational characteristics. This focus of the epidemics calls for the urgent strengthening of prevention, care and treatment programmes addressing primarily the needs of these populations. The responses to the HIV epidemic to date have been diverse and great sources of learning, and demonstrated the capacity to respond to the HIV epidemic successfully in Myanmar, but are not being implemented to a scale sufficient to slow down the epidemic or mitigate its impact. Confronting an unabated HIV epidemic, the Government of Myanmar decided to embark on a comprehensive prevention, care and treatment strategy which would build on the experience and enrol the participation of all actors committed to this goal. Accordingly, this National Strategic Plan was the first in Myanmar developed using participatory processes, with direct involvement of all sectors involved in the national response to the HIV epidemic. Contributions were made by the Ministry of Health, several other government ministries, United Nations entities, local non-government organizations, international non-government organizations, people living with HIV and people drawn from vulnerable groups. The National Strategic Plan 2006 ? 2010 was prepared following a series of reviews which looked at the progress and experiences of activities during the first half of the decade. These included a mid-term review of the Joint Programme for HIV/AIDS in 2005 and a review of the National AIDS Programme in 2006, as well as many diverse studies and reviews of particular programmes and projects. The National Strategic Plan identifies what is now required to improve national and local responses, bring partners together to reinforce the effectiveness of all responses, and build more effective management, coordination, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. It builds on current responses, identifies initiatives which are working and need to be scaled up to have maximum impact, builds on key principles which will underlie the national response, outlines broadly the approaches to be used for prevention, treatment, care and support, and delineates strategic directions and activity areas to be further developed in order to mitigate the impact of the epidemic. Ambitious service delivery targets have been set, aiming towards ‘Universal Access? to prevention and care services. The National Strategic Plan is composed of two parts: Part One, presenting background information, aim, objectives, key principles, strategic directions, approaches and information on roles of participating entities and coordinating mechanisms; and Part Two, presenting, for each strategic direction activity area, outcomes, outputs, indicators and targets. The subsequent formulation of a Plan of Operations and accompanying budgets will translate key principles and broad directions set out in the strategic plan into a directly actionable and costed plan relevant to all aspects of the national response to HIV and to all partners in this unprecedented effort. Building on previous experiences and lessons learned by all partners about what works best in the specific context of Myanmar, the National Strategic Plan identifies the key principles underpinning both the plan itself and its future implementation. Among these are: the adherence to the ?Three Ones” principles ? One HIV and AIDS Action Framework; one National Coordinating Authority; and one Monitoring and Evaluation System ? the participation of people living with HIV in every aspect and at every stage of the strategy, a primary emphasis on outcomes, defined as targeted behaviour changes and use of services; and a focus on the Township level with selected ?Accelerated Townships” receiving support towards accelerated programme implementation. Key principles bring into focus populations at higher risk and vulnerability and with the greatest needs, ensuring that their needs are met to the maximum extent possible and that their participation in activities concerning them is secured. The development and implementation of an enabling environment is central to this approach, recognizing the negative effects that lack of information, inequality, discrimination and non-participation have on the reduction of HIV-related risk and vulnerability. The strategy will strive to scale up programme coverage and use of services to the maximum achievable levels of resource availability and implementing capacity. It will build on evidence as strategic information guides decision and action and will achieve value for money as financial and other resources are incrementally mobilized and efficiently used. Working across sectors of government will gradually expand as capacity is built. The strategy will rely on collaboration between government and other public, private and non-government entities while mechanisms for coordination at the central and peripheral levels are enhanced. The National Strategic Plan for Myanmar aims at reducing HIV transmission and HIV-related morbidity, mortality, disability and social and economic impact. Its objectives are to: reduce HIV transmission and vulnerability, particularly among people at highest risk; improve the quality and length of life of people living with HIV through treatment, care and support; and mitigate the social, cultural and economic impacts of the epidemic. Strategic directions are primarily defined on the basis of beneficiary populations. They include the reduction of HIV-related risk, vulnerability and impact among sex workers and their clients, men who have sex with men, drug users, partners and familes of people living with HIV, institutionalized populations, mobile populations, uniformed services personnel, young people, individuals in the workplace and, more generally, men and women of reproductive age. They strive to meet the needs of people living with HIV for comprehensive care, support and treatment through the scaling up of services and use of a participatory approach. In order to expand the ability of all actors to engage fully in this collaborative effort, strategic directions also include the enhancement of the capacity of health systems and the strengthening of comprehensive monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. This National Strategic Plan is a living document: it lends itself to adjustments and revisions as further experience is gained, resources are mobilized and evidence of success and shortcomings is generated through monitoring, special studies and mid-term and end-of-term evaluations."
Source/publisher: http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs4/MM_draft_Nat_strat_plan_on_HIV-AIDS.pdf
2006-06-28
Date of entry/update: 2007-02-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 632.87 KB
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Description: "1. Introduction The Operational Plan 2006 -2009 was developed following the development of the National Strategic Plan 2006 ? 2010. The Operational Plan, using the National Strategic Plan as a guide for decisions on priorities and scaling up, provides a range of products associated with the planning, monitoring and implementation that require the input and involvement of many different stakeholders. A NSP flow-chart has been developed to clearly identify the steps, timing, and actors responsible for leading and/or being involved in processes (cf annex). A training workshop was conducted in April 2006 on estimation of resources need and provisional rapid costing for resource mobilization. As a result, yearly targets and estimated cost of each component and sub-component of the strategic plan 2006 - 2010 were formulated. A core team of experts for the same to undertake future costing work was also formed. The Operational Plan incorporates all existing resources. The three year Operational Planning Cycle aims to encourage longer term financing. Each year, the immediately forthcoming year will be developed in greater detail to ensure coordination, identify specific actors and geographical areas, assess key enabling environment issues which need to be addressed, and better plan financial flows. The annual review of a three-year rolling plan thus balances the desire for longer-term financing with the need for annual review of progress, changing conditions and more detailed planning. Funding for Year 1 (April 2006 to March 2007) includes existing resources from the Global Fund and the FHAM which are mostly available up to December 2006. Funding to fill the gaps will be sought from a variety of sources, including increased domestic contributions, pooled donor mechanisms such as the 3-Diseases Humanitarian Fund for Myanmar, bilateral development agencies and other sources. The Operational Plan is composed of a set of documents, including: • description of the strategic directions and indicators with targets, including scaling-up and geographical priorities • business plan and budget • Monitoring and Evaluation Framework."
2006-09-23
Date of entry/update: 2007-02-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 192.12 KB
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Description: "The delivery of humanitarian assistance in Burma/Myanmar is facing new threats. After a period in which humanitarian space expanded, aid agencies have come under renewed pressure, most seriously from the military government but also from pro-democracy activists overseas who seek to curtail or control assistance programs. Restrictions imposed by the military regime have worsened in parallel with its continued refusal to permit meaningful opposition political activity and its crackdown on the Karen. The decision of the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to withdraw from the country in 2005 was a serious setback, which put thousands of lives in jeopardy, although it has been partly reversed by the new Three Diseases Fund (3D Fund). There is a need to get beyond debates over the country's highly repressive political system; failure to halt the slide towards a humanitarian crisis could shatter social stability and put solutions beyond the reach of whatever government is in power..."
Source/publisher: International Crisis Group -- Asia Briefing N°58
2006-12-08
Date of entry/update: 2006-12-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 198.71 KB
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Description: Executive Summary: "A multi-site survey was conducted during September through November 2003 to assess the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors related to transmission and prevention of HIV and AIDS among general population and youths residing in seven survey sites in Myanmar. A total of 9678 individuals (4631 males and 5047 females) were interviewed. Of these, 35% were youth aged 15-24 years. Although 91% of the population had heard about HIV and AIDS, only 35% knew about methods of HIV prevention and barely 27% were able to correctly reject the common misconceptions about HIV transmission. Youth, women and respondents with lowest level of education had the lowest knowledge about HIV prevention. Less than a quarter of the respondents were willing to buy food from an HIV-infected vendor and just half of them expressed willingness to care for an HIV-infected relative. Only a quarter of the population sought treatment for sexually transmitted disease (STD) symptoms; a large proportion of these consulted a private practitioner or took self treatment and only 15% visited a government hospital for STD treatment. About 7% of men had sex with a non-regular partner; nearly twothirds of them had unprotected sex (only 54% of male respondents reported using condom consistently with a commercial sex worker and 18% with a casual acquaintance). While 68% respondents expressed the intent for voluntary confidential counseling and testing (VCCT) but a mere 5% actually got tested and received the result. The findings of the survey indicate the following programmatic gaps: * Knowledge about HIV prevention is deficient * High level of misconceptions about HIV transmission prevail * Negative attitudes towards PLWHA are common * Utilization of STD services is suboptimal * High-risk sexual behaviours exist and unprotected sex is common * VCCT needs remain unmet..."
Creator/author: Dr. Min Thwe, Dr. Aye Myat Soe, Dr Tin Aung
Source/publisher: Myanmar MInistry of Health (National Aids Control Programme)
2005-02-00
Date of entry/update: 2006-06-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Burma?s mushrooming HIV/AIDS problem is already of international concern, but now efforts to keep the lethal disease—and TB and malaria—in check will be further hampered by a Global Fund decision to cut off aid... "Another storm cloud appears to be heading towards an already battered Burma. But unlike others before it, this is not about such lofty issues as democracy and human rights, or even more down-to-earth issues as forced labor and political prisoners. It involves simply life and death, particularly after the tumultuous decision by the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to cancel its US $98 million program over the next five years. It is not just a case of saving more people from the clutches of TB and malaria, which already cut a huge swathe of death and misery through the wretched country. Programs to combat these are also now at risk, but it is the potentially more deadly spread of HIV/AIDS which is darkening Burma?s already gloomy horizons..."
Creator/author: Bruce Kent
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 9
2005-09-00
Date of entry/update: 2006-04-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: TABLE OF CONTENTS: Acknowledgements; Executive Summary; Summary of mid-term review findings and recommendations; Background; HIV/AIDS situation and response in Myanmar; Challenges to mobilising a response; Review methodology; Progress against Joint Programme outputs;; Output 1; Output 2; Output 3; Output 4; Output 5; Responses to additional questions in the TORs; Table 1: HIV sentinel surveillance results among IDUs, 1992-2003 10; Table 2: Numbers of clients, by age and sex, receiving results and 13; post-test counselling in 2004; Figure 1: Trends in drug use reflected through new registered cases 10; in Yangon, Mandalay, Kachin, Shan, Sagaing and Bago; Figure 2: Number of PLWHA receiving home-based care, 2000-2005; Figure 3: Actual versus needed ART, 2004 and 2005; Diagram 1: Illustrative re-structuring of Joint Programme management and co-ordination structures... Annex A: Mid-term review itinerary; Annex B: Joint Programme partner implementing organisations; Annex C: Pre-review assessment paper topics; Annex D: Mid-Term review terms of reference; Annex E: Additional comments received on the first draft mid-term review report..."Myanmar is presently faced with the challenge of controlling a dual epidemic of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and injection drug use. Injection Drug Users (IDUs) have a very high risk of infection, which can occur soon after an individual begins injecting. Sexual transmission is another major mode of HIV transmission. Commercial sex, which is driven by patronage of sex workers by men, is the largest contributor to this. Transmission is occurring heterosexually outside of the commercial sex industry and HIV is now in the general population. A substantial amount of sexual transmission of HIV is also taking place amongst men who have sex with men (MSM). It is thought that a significant proportion of male youth are at risk because of having early sex with sex workers. Some migrant populations are at increased risk as well. The trend of HIV infection amongst women attending antenatal clinics is upward and it is presumed that HIV is thus being passed on to babies at expected rates. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) death rates have not been examined, but rising numbers of orphaned children are being seen and very few programmes to assist them exist..."
Creator/author: Dr Anne Scott (Team Leader); Dr Carol Jenkins; Dr Dilip Mathai; Dr Samiran Panda
Source/publisher: UNAIDS
2005-10-03
Date of entry/update: 2006-04-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "...This report seeks to synthesize what is known about HIV/AIDS, Malaria, TB and other disease threats including Avian influenza (H5N1 virus) in Burma; assess the regional health and security concerns associated with these epidemics; and to suggest policy options for responding to these threats in the context of tightening restrictions imposed by the junta..." ...I. Introduction [p. 9-13] II. SPDC Health Expenditures and Policies [p.14-18] III. Public Health Status [p.19-42] a. HIV/AIDS b. TB c. Malaria d. Other health threats: Avian Flu, Filaria, Cholera IV. SPDC Policies Towards the Three "Priority Diseases" [p. 43-45] and Humanitarian Assistance V. Health Threats and Regional Security Issues [p. 46-51] a. HIV b. TB c. Malaria VI. Policy and Program Options [p. 52-56] VII. References [p. 57-68] Appendix A: Official translation of guidelines Appendix B: Statement by Bureau of Public Affairs Appendix C: Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Avian Flu notification.
Creator/author: Chris Beyrer, MD, MPH; Luke Mullany, PhD; Adam Richards, MD, MPH; Aaron Samuals, MHS; Voravit Suwanvanichkij, MD, MPH; om Lee, MD, MHS; Nicole Franck, MHS
Source/publisher: Center for Public Health and Human Rights, Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
2006-03-00
Date of entry/update: 2006-04-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese, Chinese
Format : pdf pdf pdf
Size: 1.56 MB 82.86 KB 143.52 KB
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Description: This 63 page book collectively answers many of the questions young people want to ask about HIV/AIDS. [in Myanmar language] It explains AIDS origin in Africa and spread globally, its current prevalence in Myanmar, its modes of infection, and means for control. Yangon, 2005... For further information please contact: Jason Rush, Communication Officer, UNICEF in Myanmar Phone: (95 1) 212 086; Fax: (95 1) 212 063 ; Email: [email protected]
Source/publisher: UNICEF
2005-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2005-12-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Burmese
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Description: Assessment of the epidemiological situation 2004 The national adult prevalence of HIV infection is between 1% to 2%. Myanmar is thus characterized as having a "generalized" epidemic. However, the spread of the HIV infection across the country is heterogenous varying widely by geographical location and by population sub group. HIV was introduced in Myanmar in mid-to-late 1980s and by the end of 2003, a cumulative 7,174 AIDS cases and 3,324 AIDS deaths have been reported. The male-to-female ratio among reported cases is 3.6:1. Among cases with known mode of transmission, 65% acquired infection by heterosexual route, 26% by injecting drug use, and 5% by contaminated blood.
Source/publisher: UNAIDS (Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS), WHO, UNICEF
2004-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2005-04-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: GENERAL HEALTH: STD and HIV/AIDS in Thailand and Myanmar (Dr. Ying-Ru Lo, WHO, Mrs. Laksami Suebsaeng, WHO); Syndromic Management Appoach : An Effective Way to STD Case Management (Health Messenger); Neonatal Conjunctivitis (Dr. Jerry Vincent, IRC); An introduction to HIV/AIDS (Health Messenger); HIV/AIDS Transmission and Non-Transmission Routes (Andrea Menefee, IRC); AIDS NEWS (Health Messenger)... SOCIAL: The link between STDs and HIV/AIDS: the medical and social causes (Health Messenger); Health and Human Rights (Christine Harmston, BRC)... DIAGNOSIS: Syndromic approach to identifying common STDs (Dr. Rose McGready, SMRU)... HEALTH EDUCATION: Counseling, Information and Partner notification for STD patients (Dr. Rose McGready, SMRU); SawPaing and Nan Wai (Gordon Sharmar, WEAVE)... MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH: Children and HIV/AIDS (Health Messenger)... FROM THE FIELD: The Karen Education Working Group (Ms. Honey Moon, KEWG)... PREVENTION: Prevention (Dr. Rose McGready, SMRU).
Source/publisher: Aide Medicale Internationale (AMI)
2000-06-00
Date of entry/update: 2005-01-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Burmese, English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.38 MB
Local URL:
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Description: GENERAL HEALTH: What is AIDS? A Short Introduction (Health Messenger Team); Clinical Aspects of HIV/AIDS (Health Messenger Team)... PREVENTION: Transmission of HIV (Health Messenger Team); Empowering Community Change - HIV/AIDS Prevention (Mary Yetter, OXFAM UK)... FROM THE FIELD: The HIV/AIDS Situation in Burma (Zaw Winn, Chiang Mai); Women Empowerment and HIV/AIDS (Dr Padma, AMI Myanmar); Community Care for People with HIV/AIDS World Vision HIV/AIDS Programme in Ranong (Dr Win Maung, World Vision Ranong)... TREATMENT: Treatments for people with HIV/AIDS (Nicolas Durier, MSF France)... HEALTH EDUCATION: Counselling for HIV/AIDS (Health Messenger Team); Misconceptions about HIV/AIDS (Health Messenger Team in collaboration with Maw Maw Zaw); Thai Youth Action Programs (Owen Elias, Thai Youth Action Programmes); Non-transmission routes of HIV... SOCIAL: Alcohol Abuse and HIV/AIDS (Pam Rogers, CARE Project); Social Impact and Underlying Causes of HIV/AIDS Epidemics (Julia Matthews, Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children); CASE STUDY: IDUs and HIV: A Case study (Greg Manning)... INTERVIEW: An Interview with Honeymoon from KEWG (Health Messenger Team).
Source/publisher: Aide Medicale Internationale (AMI)
2004-09-00
Date of entry/update: 2005-01-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese
Format : pdf
Size: 1.64 MB
Local URL:
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Description: Asia Briefing N°34; 16 December 2004... OVERVIEW: "Myanmar's military government has acknowledged its serious HIV/AIDS problem in the two years since Crisis Group published a briefing paper.[1] This has permitted health professionals, international organisations and donors to begin a coordinated response. The international community has boosted funding and shown more willingness to find ways to help victims and counter the pandemic. Some government obstacles have been removed although the regime's closed nature is unaltered. The opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), which has generally opposed aid involving contact with the junta, has supported many HIV/AIDS steps because of the humanitarian imperative. The urgent need now is to boost the local staff capabilities and make more effective use of the money flowing into the country. In the process civil society and small NGOs and other local organisations can be fostered that can eventually help prepare a democratic transition. Significant problems remain. About 1.3 per cent of Myanmar's[2] adults are believed to be infected with the virus, one of the highest rates in Asia. Government spending on health and education is perilously low, and the economy has been grossly mismanaged by the military. HIV continues to present serious risks to the population, to security and to Myanmar's neighbours.[3] Critics of assistance to Myanmar have said the government would misappropriate any funds. This has not been the case so far. Increased international contact with the government on this issue has pushed it towards more pragmatic positions and opened up program possibilities that were not available in 2002. HIV prevention and treatment suffered then from a lack of resources and knowledge. Now the main constraint is the implementation capacity of groups involved in HIV prevention and AIDS care. The critical steps that need to be taken include: * expansion of assistance through all available channels to border areas where the HIV problem is particularly intense; * expansion of national capacity to deal with HIV, including more technical aid and training; * expansion of support for local and community-based organisations to strengthen their capacity and enable them to be larger providers of grassroots education, counselling and treatment; * more effective outreach to minority and ethnic communities with HIV/AIDS prevention education as well as counselling and treatment; * streamlining of disbursement, evaluation and monitoring procedures for funding; and * expansion of harm reduction programs. The political situation in Myanmar is extremely uncertain. Former Prime Minister Khin Nyunt is now under arrest on suspicion of corruption. He had chaired a key government committee on health issues and had supported greater involvement of international NGOs in fighting HIV. It is now very unclear whether further steps forward will be possible."... You might have to register (free) to access the document.
Source/publisher: International Crisis Group
2004-12-16
Date of entry/update: 2005-01-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Chris Beyrer has worked on HIV/AIDS issues along the Thai-Burma border since the early 1990s and is now associate research professor and director of the Johns Hopkins University Fogarty AIDS International Training and Research Program. He spoke with Irrawaddy reporter Naw Seng about efforts in Burma to control the epidemic..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 12, No. 7, July 2004
2004-07-00
Date of entry/update: 2004-11-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: I. Executive Summary; II. Introduction; III. Thailand: Background. IV. Burma: Background. V. Project Methodology; VI. Findings: Hill Tribe Women and Girls in Thailand; Burmese Migrant Women and Girls in Thailand; VII. Law and Policy ?€? Thailand; VIII. Applicable International Human Rights Law; IX. Law and Policy ?€? United States X. Conclusion and Expanded Recommendations..."This study was designed to provide critical insight and remedial recommendations on the manner in which human rights violations committed against Burmese migrant and hill tribe women and girls in Thailand render them vulnerable to trafficking,2 unsafe migration, exploitative labor, and sexual exploitation and, consequently, through these additional violations, to HIV/AIDS. This report describes the policy failures of the government of Thailand, despite a program widely hailed as a model of HIV prevention for the region. Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) findings show that the Thai government?s abdication of responsibility for uncorrupted and nondiscriminatory law enforcement and human rights protection has permitted ongoing violations of human rights, including those by authorities themselves, which have caused great harm to Burmese and hill tribe women and girls..."
Creator/author: Karen Leiter, Ingrid Tamm, Chris Beyrer, Moh Wit, Vincent Iacopino, . Holly Burkhalter, Chen Reis.
Source/publisher: Physicians for Human Rights
2004-07-14
Date of entry/update: 2004-07-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: The HIV/AIDS crisis, UK assistance and the general political situation. "The Irrawaddy interviewed Vicky Bowman, the British Ambassador to Burma. She previously worked in the British Embassy in Rangoon from 1990 to 1993 before returning in Dec 2002. The UK recently announced that it would contribute 10 million pounds (US $15.7 million) over the next three years to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS in Burma... Question: Why did the British government decide to take action now? Answer: We?ve been providing some support to NGOs to combat HIV for several years, for example for subsidized condoms. But we believe that the time has now come to increase our support, both because the scale of the problem is such that it needs a significant response, and because the climate for working on HIV/AIDS in Burma is gradually improving. Q: Do you think the Burmese military has realized the seriousness of the AIDS epidemic?..."
Creator/author: An Interview with Vicky Bowman
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol 11, No. 4
2003-05-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-07-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Burma has taken the first step to tackling its deepening AIDS epidemic: admitting the problem exists. But it has a long way to go to bring the problem under control... As Burma?s HIV/AIDS epidemic mounts, researchers at Johns Hopkins University say an adequate response is going to entail not just pumped up resources, but also "political will" on the part of the government. The AIDS specialist notes that one recent development gives cause for hope. "There is a good Minister of Health [Dr Kyaw Myint] now," he says. "He seems to have a heart and he?s interested in health�.that?s a change..."
Creator/author: Tony Broadmoor
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 11, No. 4
2003-05-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-07-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "The Irrawaddy spoke to Dr Myat Htoo Razak about the severity of the HIV/AIDS situation in Burma. He is a medical doctor and PhD from Burma who specializes in Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases with an emphasis on HIV/AIDS and Health Policy and Planning. He currently works in HIV/AIDS research, prevention, care, and support programs in Asia through various international agencies and institutions... Question: How serious is the HIV/AIDS situation in Burma?Answer: As a health worker and a person from Burma, I would say the HIV/AIDS situation is one of the country?s most serious health and social challenges since the late 1980s. The focus has mainly been on how many are infected, as estimated numbers of people with HIV/AIDS in Burma vary. The UNAIDS 2002 report estimated from 180,000 to 420,000 cases, while another group of researchers estimated 687,000 cases. It doesn?t matter whether the number is one hundred or one million if little is being done to prevent more infections and to provide care and support to those who are already infected. We need to have good estimates for better planning but Burma needs to move forward with action now. I deeply hope that people in Burma will soon be able to respond effectively to this serious health, social and development challenge..."
Creator/author: An Interview with Dr Myat Htoo Razak
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 11. No. 4
2003-05-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-07-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "The SPDC has finally acknowledged the AIDS epidemic in Burma. But even now, the junta spends more of the country?s dwindling resources on attacking democrats than it does on tackling the disease, Aung Zaw writes..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 7. No. 6
1999-07-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Burma�s censors have imposed an effective ban on reporting about HIV/AIDS. But they are not alone: The exiled opposition is also maintaining an unhealthy silence on the issue..."
Creator/author: Aung Zaw
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 10, No. 1
2002-01-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: HIV/AIDS infection has reached epidemic proportions in Burma today and reports by UN agencies as well as independent health professionals unanimously confirm this fact. Estimates suggest at least five percent of the population is infected. The alarming situation has become a national emergency that affects all groups, including non-Burman ethnic nationalities and the military. . . .
Creator/author: Dr. Thaung Htun, Director, Burma UN Service Office, New York
Source/publisher: NCGUB
2001-06-25
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Japanese
Format : pdf
Size: 38.8 KB
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Description: Dancing alone o?n the floor of a popular Rangoon nightclub in front of a huge video screen playing music videos, the young Burmese woman repeatedly glances at the very few western men in the disco. She approaches them and makes it clear her charms come at a price. Does she use condoms?
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 6. No. 1
1998-02-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: As if life in Burma was not grim enough, with its poverty and its brutal government, it now turns out to have an AIDS epidemic. Thousands of young adults have died without ever having heard of the disease that killed them, let alone of ways to prevent it. In parts of Burma, funerals of people in their 20s or 30s are an everyday occurrence.
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 5. No. 4-5
1997-08-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Release from prison is no guarantee of freedom in Burma, where the ruling junta?s control over the lives of political prisoners often extends as far as their graves. On June 12 and July 12 this year, two people passed away from AIDS-related diseases in Burma. Exactly one month after Bo Ni Aung died on June 12, 2001, Si Thu, also known as Ye Naing, succumbed to that incurable syndrome. These days, in fact, it seems to be nothing unusual or surprising when we hear about more victims of HIV/AIDS. Yet the true story shows that these two were not so much victims of AIDS, but of Burma?s ruling junta, which calls itself the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). Both of them died as a result of the junta?s inhumane treatment of prisoners. Bo Ni Aung, 42, had been a political prisoner who was set free in the middle of 1999, having spent more than eight years in two disreputable prisons, Insein and Thayet. Si Thu died while being detained under Article 10(a) of the State Protection Act in Tharawaddy prison. Aged 35, he was a former student activist who had been incarcerated for 11 years in Insein and Tharawaddy, not far from the Burmese capital..."
Creator/author: Kyaw Zwa Moe
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy", Vol 9. No. 7
2001-09-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Review of "Out of Control 2"..."...A new report, titled ?Out Of Control 2?, issued by the Southeast Asian Information Network [SAIN] shows the involvement of Burmese regime officials in narcotics trafficking and the correlation of increased drug trade and rising HIV/AIDS rates in Burma and beyond its borders..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 6, No. 6
1998-12-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "From available information, Myanmar has the worst national epidemic of HIV among IDUs in the Asian region. With very large numbers of IDUs and a very high proportion of these already infected with HIV, Myanmar has a IDU/HIV problem of major significance for itself and its neighbours. Much more ongoing surveillance and many more harm reduction programs are required. With only a handful of agencies currently targeting HIV among IDUs, emphasis should be on the development of harm reduction programs that are feasible in the current political climate. This is an issue of concern for both Myanmar, where the problem is largely unacknowledged, and for neighbouring countries, who receive the largest proportion of the illicit drugs (especially heroin and amphetamines) coming into their countries from across its borders. These countries also face a continuing influx of HIV infection and have citizens who are often infected with HIV as a result of imprisonment in Myanmar. Myanmar is truly a ?core? country for this epidemic for the whole of Asia and therefore of the highest priority for action, in terms of both ongoing assessment and the urgent development of responses... Current Situation - Drug Taking Practices - Prevalence - Government Responses to Drug Control (including penalties) - Government response to drug use and HIV - National AIDS Policy - Non-government responses - Myanmar: - Activities - Contact for situation report - Myanmar: - References. "Prior to colonisation by the British in 1852, opium use was not widespread in Burma. Soon after the annexation of lower Burma, British administrators began importing large quantities of opium from India and established a government controlled opium monopoly. In 1878, the Opium Act made it illegal for any Burmese to smoke opium, which could be sold only to ?registered addicts?, most of whom were Chinese. Prior to the prohibition, many Burmese had been introduced to opium smoking and developed an addiction. The trading of opium was declared illegal by 1906 but such legislation had minimal impact..."
Source/publisher: Asian Harm Reduction Network
1997-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : htm
Size: 40.83 KB
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Description: Fighting "Fire" vs. Preventing "Fire". Preventing HIV/AIDS and fighting it are both very challenging. It will take courage, expertise, commitment and support to destroy the deadly virus, writes Dr Saw Lwin.
Creator/author: Dr Saw Lwin
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 7. No. 6
1999-07-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: A former political prisoner recalls the tale of HIV horror inside the notorious Insein prison. Slorc used to threaten political prisoners with the cancellation of visiting rights, beating, transferal to another prison or an unfamiliar cell-block, solitary confinement and extension of prison-terms. But it was not successful. Now, they use more effective weapons to threaten prisoners.
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 5. No. 4-5
1997-08-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "More than a million miners desperately excavate the bedrock of a remote valley hidden in the shadows of the Himalayas. They are in search of just one thing - jadeite, the most valuable gemstone in the world. But with wages paid in pure heroin and HIV rampant, the miners are paying an even higher price. Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark travel to the death camps of Burma...Hpakant is Burma's black heart, drawing hundreds of thousands of people in with false hopes and pumping them out again, infected and broken. Thousands never leave the mines, but those who make it back to their communities take with them their addiction and a disease provincial doctors are not equipped to diagnose or treat. The UN and WHO have now declared the pits a disaster zone, but the military regime still refuses to let any international aid in..." jade
Creator/author: Adrian Levy & Cathy Scott-Clark
Source/publisher: The Observer (London)
2001-11-11
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : html
Size: 25.12 KB
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Description: How can victims of AIDS die with dignity in a county whose leaders only grudgingly acknowledge the sacrifices of its fallen of independences?
Creator/author: Editorial
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 7. No. 6
1999-07-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "HIV prevalence is rising rapidly in Burma/Myanmar, fuelled by population mobility, poverty and frustration that breeds risky sexual activity and drug-taking. Already, one in 50 adults are estimated to be infected, and infection rates in sub-populations with especially risky behaviour (such as drug users and sex workers) are among the highest in Asia. Because of the long lag time between HIV infection and death, the true impact of the epidemic is just beginning to be felt. Households are losing breadwinners, children are losing parents, and some of the hardest-hit communities, particularly some fishing villages with very high losses from HIV/AIDS, are losing hope. Worse is to come, but how much worse depends on the decisions that Myanmar and the international community take in the coming months and years... Myanmar stands perilously close to an unstoppable epidemic. However large scale action targeted at helping those most at risk protect themselves could still make a real difference. Action on the scale necessary will inevitably involve working through government institutions, possibly in partnership with NGOs. The international community, and bilateral donors in particular, should look for ways to channel resources to Myanmar in ways that encourage political commitment and capitalise on the emerging willingness to confront the HIV epidemic..."
Source/publisher: International Crisis Group
2002-04-02
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Myanmar is considered to have one of the most severe HIV epidemics in Asia due to the high prevalence of injecting drug use and HIV among drug users. Reports suggest there are approximately 150,000 to 250,000 IDUs in Myanmar. In 1997 HIV prevalence among IDUs was 54%, in 2000 this had risen to 63% and in some states was among the highest rate in the world, at up to 96%. National surveillance data shows that IDUs in Myanmar often become infected with HIV early in their injecting careers which is rarely seen elsewhere in the world. Date of release 8 February 2002 Author: Publisher: (Extract on Myanmar, pp 140-150
Creator/author: Gary Reid, Genvieve Costigan
Source/publisher: The Centre for Harm Reduction, The Burnet Institute, Australia
2002-01-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : htm
Size: 40.83 KB
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