More needs to be done to fight AIDS in Myanmar

YANGON, Myanmar: HIV sufferer Baby, who declined to be identified by her real name, has lived with the condition for the last 17 years. The 20-year-old believes she contracted HIV through an infected needle when she was receiving treatment as a child.

Her parents had to sell their house to pay for her treatment. But recently, the medication was too much for Baby to bear, prompting her to attempt suicide.

Baby said in Burmese: "If I die, my mother will suffer. She doesn't want me to die. Now, I don't think about committing suicide. I'm now thinking of how to survive well and how to take care of my mother. People said that the amount of money she spent (on medicating) me weighs heavier than me. I feel so sad for her."

About 200,000 people live with HIV/Aids in Myanmar. Although Myanmar is seeing fewer new infections, statistics like that are just estimates.

"It may not be reflecting the reality in the community and it might even generate complacency that we have done enough and that it's ok, there won't be a huge major epidemic out there which might not be the case," said Dr Sid Naing, Country Director of Marie Stopes International Mynamar.

Dr Sid Naing also cautioned that if armed conflicts continue, health officials will not be able to provide HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment services to those affected areas. He said: "If you have that, the concentrated areas of infection in those areas could be left unchecked and that has potential to really come back again at the whole national HIV epidemic as well."

The government is now ramping up its efforts to generate greater awareness about HIV/AIDS and promoting counseling and treatment services at the grassroots level.

Dr Myo Thant, an HIV/AIDS specialist at Yangon General Hospital, said: "The government is spending more money on the health sector - especially for HIV prevention, treatment care and support. Our first priority is capacity development for the healthcare provider, training for HIV counseling and testing. Even at the grassroots level, midwives can do HIV testing and give antiretroviral therapy for HIV infected persons."

Even though the number of new HIV/AIDS cases has been dropping in Myanmar, the government is still planning to roll out even more sites - particularly in remote areas - from about 65 to 150 by next year to allow more people to come forward and test to find out if they have HIV/AIDS.

This is all part of the country's long-term early detection and prevention programme. Through nation-wide programmes, Myanmar hopes to halve the number of new HIV/AIDS cases from 7,000 currently to fewer than 3,000 in 2016.

http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/more-needs-to-be-done-to-fight-aids-in-myanmar/