HIV in Myanmar

(Burma)

In Myanmar (Burma), about half a million people are HIV positive, and the number is growing. The national government is spending very little on treating the disease, and many are dying simply because of a lack of affordable treatment.

According to Doctors Without Borders (also known as MSF), as many as 25,000 Burmese died in 2007 – deaths that could've been prevented by anti-retroviral therapy (ART) drugs and proper treatment. There was simply not enough money from the government or outside donors, and people were too poor to afford the treatment themselves. Pushed to its limit by the lack of treatment by other care providers, MSF has recently been forced to make the painful decision to drastically reduce the number of new patients it can treat.

Burma's government spends the least percentage of its GDP on health care of any country in the world, and international donor organizations give less to Burma per capita than any other country except India. Unsafe medical practices, like the reuse of unsterilized equipment and insufficient blood screening, have also been a source of infection through which even kids get infected.

Neighbors and family members stigmatize those who are suffering from AIDS. Many are forced to leave their homes and are unable to find work to provide for themselves.

I have visited the private shelter for HIV patients that runs solely on donations from a few concerned citizens and is operated by volunteers. This and the few other shelters are the only hope for thousands of people. But their sources and their capacities are extremely limited. Instead of thousands, they can accommodate only a dozen or two and are constantly forced to seek financial security.