Please take a few minutes to watch the video of the Minister of Health and Sports of Myanmar speak at the High Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS last week at the UN in New York. https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1059481737452720 He spoke about key populations, civil society, and peer activities. Jamie

About the new Myanmar government betel campaign I wrote a few days ago: This is a good start but does not go near far enough. Half measures avail us nothing. If there is evidence of harm from betel chewing then a well thought-out and comprehensive national plan to decrease consumption is needed ++++++++++++++++++ And I […]

This is, I promise, my last posting on the complex issues of betel this week. When Myanmar’s first Pulitzer Prize winner writes, I read. More on betel next week. Jamie ++++++++++++++++++ Myanmar’s betel chewers swallowing hard at high prices Min Kyi Thein, Esther Htusan Associated Press Originally published June 9, 2016 at 1:03 am Updated […]

Who knew a ban on sales of betel near “hospitals, schools, government offices and tourist attractions” would draw such a heated reaction? I find the appeal to tradition interesting. Most of us agree that traditions, like culture, are always changing. What was tradition yesterday is unaccepted today. Female genital mutilation, slavery, monarchies, etc. And people […]

How fortunate for Mizzima that they got Michel Sidibe to contribute an oped. I wonder who wrote it for him Where is the evidence that the government of Myanmar spent $ 43.2 million on HIV in 2105? Where is the national spending assessment report? Jamie ++++++++++++++++++ Ending AIDS by 2030 Michel Sidibé Mizzima Tuesday, 7 […]

Sorry to repeat this posting but there are new graphics based on UNAIDS data that demonstrate that global HIV prevention has stalled. The Economist has a better graphic than UNAIDS does: https://t.co/IJ63xumAbl There were two million new infections last year. The trajectory of incidence from 1998 to 2005 was not maintained. If if had been, […]

If the Liver Foundation says that they will inoculate everyone in the country then they they have achieved 3% of their target so far. http://www.worldhepatitisalliance.org/en/member/liver-foundation-myanmar Who is funding this? Jamie ++++++++++++++++++ Liver Foundation aims for countrywide hepatitis inoculations Myint Kay Thi Wednesday, 01 June 2016 Hepatitis B vaccinations have been ramped up around the country […]

This is a good start but does not go near far enough. Half measures avail us nothing. If there is evidence of harm from betel chewing then a well thought-out and comprehensive national plan to decrease consumption is needed. Jamie ++++++++++++++++++ Myanmar to ban betel nut chewing in public IANS Sunday, 05 June 2016 Myanmar […]

It is best to clearly distinguish tobacco smoking from the other uses of tobacco. Plain packaging is just one proven public health intervention to decrease smoking. There are many others. Is Than Sein of the People’s Health Foundation working on them? Who funded this event? Jamie ++++++++++++++++++ Warnings on tobacco products to be enforced Myint […]

Look at this graph from the Economist. Look at it again. http://cdn.static-economist.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/original-size/images/2016/05/blogs/graphic-detail/20160604_woc563_0.png Nice to see more people on treatment. Global aggregate HIV prevention has stalled. There is even an increase in the number of new infections last year though UNAIDS is certainly not calling attention to it. The slope of the line showing new infections […]

Since a new fact sheet on the HIV response among people who inject drugs in Myanmar was produced by UNAIDS we expect it to be world class. I have a few comments and questions. https://www.dropbox.com/s/en43q5znaabfo9n/UNAIDS%20Harm%20reduction%20may%202016%20%2827-5-16%29%20printed%20%20version.pdf?dl=0 Although the publication notes that HIV prevalence in PWID is higher in some places than others, it ignores information on […]