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Myanmar’s new government has pledged
reforms, though little is likely to change for the roughly 240,000 people there
living with HIV/AIDS.
According to Doctors Without
Borders, some 85,000 HIV-infected people in Myanmar cannot access
antiretroviral treatment. A new member of Parliament, Phyu Phyu Thin, is hoping
to change that. The HIV activist, who founded an AIDS hospice in Yangon, has
called for the government to increase its health and education budget to
purchase more HIV/AIDS drugs and combat disease-related stigma. “The two most
important things are sufficient drugs and health education,” she said.
Social rejection of people with
HIV/AIDS is all too common. Families frequently shun relatives who are
diagnosed HIV-positive. “HIV patients are often left alone and abandoned by the
family,” said Phyu. One 42-year-old mother of six has experienced that
rejection. “[My husband] promised to come back but I’m afraid he never will,”
she said from the Yangon hospice, where she has been for two months.
Phyu and others worry the new
government will do little for those living with HIV/AIDS. The number of
patients in the hospice doubled between 2010 and 2011, she noted. “Actually,
nothing has changed. The situation has even declined,” she said.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
