Smoke Free Yangon has issued a calendar. 2019 calendar with Smokefreeyangon pic.twitter.com/0qol5Pbzxs — @SmokefreeYangon (@smokefreeyangon) January 6, 2019 https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DwPaCqqU8AA8-c0.jpg:large The calendar has Buddhist and Christian festivals marked but not Muslim ones. Is this organisation, funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, Vital Strategies and an NCD Alliance partner, a secular one or a religious one? Jamie ++++++++++++++++++ Township, […]

An important paper on a mental health intervention in Myanmar is in the Lancet Psychiatry but it is paywalled so we cannot see it. Does anyone know how I can contact Kyin Maung Gee to ask for a copy of it? Jamie ++++++++++++++++++ Task sharing: stopgap or end goal? The Lancet Psychiatry February, 2019 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(19)30006-9 […]

The Union has just published a guide to diabetes with tuberculosis. Good work. https://www.theunion.org/what-we-do/publications/technical/management-of-diabetes-mellitus-tuberculosis-a-guide-to-the-essential-practice Now they need to add tobacco smoking cessation care and screening for drug and alcohol screening to their TB care guidelines. It is sad that WHO is behind the times in revising guidelines. WHO new TB care guidelines were released last […]

The following piece by Eleven Myanmar is just full of numbers. But it notes a decrease in road crashes, road injuries, and road deaths from 2017 to 2018. That would be good news. But … The numbers have been examined by road traffic researcher Felix Siebert. He notes that fatalities are much too high for […]

Have you seen these harm reducation videos by the Asian Network of People Who Use Drugs ANPUD? This one is the best. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWM7ZQty58A&feature=youtu.be It features twelve tips on harm reduction for methamphetamine users. Highly recommended. More are here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLavaH4OnxHnRZaJ_D74KcFQWc0SiwimxZ Jamie

It is good to check on Myanmar’s progress in HIV by looking at information on AIDS Data Hub every once in a while. Here you have it. https://www.aidsdatahub.org/Country-Profiles/Myanmar Even progress on 90-90-90 is not presented. Jamie

Lawi Weng at the Irrawaddy barely scratches the surface in this article. Is detention mandatory? What treatment is offered? How long do people with methamphetamine use disorder stay there? Are nonBuddhists admitted? So many questions on treatment for methamphetamine use disorder in Myanmar. So few answers. Jamie ++++++++++++++++++ Mon Community Leaders Building Drug-Treatment Center for […]

Perhaps if this journalist used local sources instead of people far away from Myanmar this piece would get closer to truth. Myanmar cannot be said to be ‘topping’ its neighbours. Vietnam has over fifty thousand people taking methadone. And the number of service delivery sites is a poor metric to measure progress. Jamie ++++++++++++++++++ Myanmar […]

Where are the Three Millennium Development Goals Fund results published? 3MDG has successfully implemented their 5 year programme with $320m contributed by #UKaid & others. We are proud to share key results #AidWorks #Burma 👶🏼6 mill people covered by maternal, new born & child health services in 44 township 💉10 mill needles & syringes distributed […]

“It is called a highway, but it’s still an ordinary road.” And road deaths and injuries and crashes have decreased. Good. Jamie ++++++++++++++++++ Road Toll on ‘Death Highway’ Drops in 2018 Moe Moe The Irrawaddy 3 January 2019 NAYPYITAW—A total of 103 people were killed on the Yangon-Mandalay Highway last year, Highway Police said. Speeding […]

I’m puzzled that this article on the development of the response to HIV in Myanmar says the Fund for HIV in Myanmar FHAM was formed after the withdrawal of the Global Fund. How carefully did all the coauthors read the draft? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5337409/pdf/jve-2-20.pdf Jamie

Encouraging to see the development of 538 Love for understanding of substance use disorders. A couple of points. Most health care providers and health scientists no longer use the term ‘drug abuse’. And I have yet to see clear evidence that “We are seeing drug abuse rates climbing around the country.” Onwards, Jamie ++++++++++++++++++ Recovering […]