Happy World TB Day. Opening a window is the best way of reducing TB spread in hospitals. This method can be extensively used in Burma / Myanmar: in the absence of electricity is the only way to bring light into the hospital ward.

The author of this article is an expert in economics but treats the issue of HIV superficially. He notes that Myanmar “has the most serious HIV /AIDS epidemic in Asia”. One might hope an economist would quantify the term ‘serious’ in more detail. He then reports on a report that Chinese officials don’t believe the Myanmar estimate of infections. Most of us agree that Chinese officials are not known for probity in making estimations of HIV infections. There’s more: the Global Fund is a Fund that had no secretariat presence in Myanmar and only one branch of MSF has left the country. One or two other branches of Medecins sans Frontieres, we all know, are there to stay.