The year end issue of Irrawaddy offered a list of this year’s heroes. These three do not belong on a list with John Bolton.

This article speaks for itself, as it were.

There are some interesting parts to this transcript …

Can any readers offer more information on Myanmar’s funeral associations that support families affected by HIV?

Here is a plea for better journalistic practice and an example of such.

The [him] moderator thinks it is yet too early to announce a decrease in prevalence as a result of increased prevention activities. Or to announce a decrease in prevalence at all. More evidence is needed. The putative decrease in incidence is only of academic interest.

“Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond […]

There are limits on patient numbers enforced by MSF Holland's head office in Amsterdam …

Myanmar is not the only country where governmental regulations limit the activities of international nongovernmental organisations …

The [him] moderator recognises that voluntary counselling and testing will need to be increased as more people come forward to access treatment. But he deplores the routine testing of people in health care situations. There is no ‘guidance’ to monitor the routine human rights violations that occur as a direct result of routine testing. Shame on WHO and UNAIDS. You can comment directly to them or on the [him] forum … and read the attached critical analysis.

The [him] moderator has read the new report from the Burma Campaign UK and presents the executive summary below and the full report attached. He agrees with some of its points. Overall the amount of funding provided is too little. He wonders how crossborder assistance would be transparent, accountable and independently monitored and how coverage would be measured. And he thinks the report takes a very narrow view of the promotion of democracy. There are many methods to promote democracy beyond funding exile groups and DfID is engaged in funding several of them.