“As Myanmar continues implementing social and political reforms, it must protect its people from inadvertent exposure to communicable diseases like HIV, tuberculosis, malaria,” said Gerard Servais, a health specialist in ADB’s Southeast Asia Department.
“Non-governmental groups have done an excellent job filling gaps in treatment and prevention services, but it’s time to both expand and strengthen these services to reach more people and provide more preventative measures.”
ADB will use a US$10 million (Ks 9.85 billion) grant from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction to deliver better healthcare services for 739 villages in five townships in Mon, Kayin, and Shan states. The project aims to strengthen the provision of healthcare in remote, vulnerable, and hard-to-reach populations in the Southeast Asian country.
“It is projected that by 2017, communities will see strengthened health systems that can plan for and manage responses to HIV/AIDS and STIs, with the number of trained health service providers increasing by 30 percent, the number of patient consultations increasing by 80 percent and behavior change campaigns to help reduce exposure to HIV, STIs, tuberculosis, and malaria,” the bank said in a statement.
An estimated 240,000 people in Myanmar are thought to be living with HIV, which classifies the country as “high burden.” A 2012 survey by the National AIDS Programme shows infections concentrated among injection drug users, female sex workers, and men who have sex with men. Among them, only 40,000 adults and children receive anti-retroviral treatment (ART), presenting a significant treatment gap.
International NGOs, alongside local NGOs and community-based organizations, provide the bulk of HIV services in the country, including prevention services, drop-in centers, clinics, and outreach programs. NGOs also support private sector provision of sexually transmitted infection (STI) treatment and distribute condoms and lubricants. In 2011, 70 percent of ART was delivered by NGOs at clinics outside the public system, according to a bank survey.
Based in Manila, ADB aims to reduce poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth and regional integration. Established in 1966, the bank has 67 members, 48 of them from the Asia Pacific region.
People living with HIV/AIDS will be provided access to antiretroviral drugs by next year, Dr. Sit Naing from Marie Stopes International said earlier this month. The project will combat immunodeficiency and gonorrhea and the Health Ministry will build more antiretroviral clinic centres, extending the availability of drugs to 85 percent of patients by 2016.
source: Eleven Myanmar
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