Good to read about my friend Eric. Jamie ++++++++++++++++++ ‘Only thanks to my AIDS this project exists’ Eva Hirschi Frontier In 1999, when he was 54, Mr Eric Trutwein discovered by accident that he was HIV positive. He needed an operation and the Yangon hospital had tested his blood. It showed he had contracted human […]

Interesting to see that WHO SEARPO has published a document on key populations that ‘crosses lines’ by including data from countries that are not in the Southeast Asia region. https://www.aidsdatahub.org/sites/default/files/publication/WHO_Are_Key_Populations_Really_the_KEY_to_Ending_AIDS_2018.pdf The sex worker HIV prevalence graph on page 18 demonstrated a sampling bias in Myanmar. Early sentinel surveillance was closer to a convenience sample: women […]

In the Global State of Harm Reduction 2018 you can find information on Myanmar scattered about. https://www.hri.global/files/2018/12/10/Asia-harm-reduction.pdf Are three hundred and fifty eight needles/syringes a year given to all people who inject drugs or that number to each person who inject drugs who gets needles and syringes? Is the denominator the same as that used […]

Prison overcrowding is a major cause of ill health in Myanmar and other places. Here is a new report on it. http://aappb.org/2018/12/7950/ Jamie

This appears to be upstream determinant funding which may or may not decrease drug use or drug use disorder in Kachin. Does job training decrease drug use? Jamie ++++++++++++++++++ USAID Commits $6 Million to Address HIV and Drug Epidemics in Kachin State Press Release December 14, 2018 YANGON – USAID will provide $6 million over […]

Universal Health Coverage Day was a couple of days ago. So now is a good time to look at the newish Myanmar Health Financing System Assessment. There is a lot of work to do. Starting with this: “Myanmar will need to invest more in the health sector—and, in particular, increase the public share of health […]

Mandatory drug detention centres seem to be just fine for the Kayin State Chief Minister. Jamie ++++++++++++++++++ A frank chat with Kayin Chief Minister Nan Khin Htwe Myint: part 2 Naw Betty Han Myanmar time 07 Dec 2018 In this second and concluding part of our interview, Kayin State Chief Minister Nan Khin Htwe Myint […]

I’ve just read this document on the UNAIDS global partnership on HIV stigma and discrimination and cannot figure out what exactly it is going to do. http://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/media_asset/global-partnership-hiv-stigma-discrimination_en.pdf What are evidence-informed ways to decrease stigma and discrimination? Jamie

WHO has published a global road safety report. https://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_safety_status/2018/en/ Wonderful graphics for Myanmar on page 199. The DALYs burden for men is twice that of women. But the words men and gender do not even appear in the report. Is it time to look carefully at the global strategy? One thing for sure. No one […]

Men and women at low risk can test for HIV or not as they choose. It will make little difference to their personal health or the public’s health. Jamie ++++++++++++++++++ Fighting HIV Ni Ni Tun Myanmar Times 7 Dec 2018 Even Women at Low Risk for HIV Should Know Their Status. Ma Hla Myat (not […]

Good to see a former UN official use the term Rohingya to describe the Rohingya. Even if she has retired and the dateline on the article says Chiang Mai. Her comments on reproductive health and women’s control of their bodies and lives are also welcome. Jamie ++++++++++++++++++ ‘Myanmar Has Come a Long Way’ on Reproductive […]

A draft of the standard operating procedures for prisons in Myanmar, also called policies, is available here. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1frJUksZSaZJTR7mr3QxZS4AgIqqHQHP9 Jamie ++++++++++++++++++ Prison healthcare manual comes out Eleven Myanmar 3 December 2018 A manual on the standard procedure for prison healthcare has come out. The book was jointly compiled by the Ministry of Health and Sports and […]