Burden of disease is important.
One respects Vos but one of his recommendations is foolish.“For example, the slow rate of decline in HIV/AIDS burden in Myanmar compared to Thailand indicates that Myanmar can learn from Thailand how to accelerate progress in HIV control.” Myanmar has nothing more to learn from Thailand. Thailand shot its drug users and ignores its gays: http://theconversation.com/why-the-hiv-epidemic-among-thai-gay-men-refuses-to-retreat-16405. Perhaps Thailand could learn from Myanmar.
Eamonn says there has been major progress in decreasing incidence in the last three years. In fact, incidence has been declining for ten years.
Jamie
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HIV among top health burdens, study finds
Manny Maung
Myanmar Times
Sunday, 25 August 2013
An international study of HIV/AIDS in Myanmar has placed it among the country’s leading causes of disease burden.
Released on August 21, The Burden of HIV: Insights from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010 found that more than 5 percent of deaths and disease burden in Myanmar is attributable to HIV/AIDS.
The authors of the report, written by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, say it is based on the first study that compares HIV/AIDS-related health loss in Myanmar to the impact of other diseases.
Despite a modest decrease in the HIV/AIDS death rate since 2007, the disease is still responsible for a greater percentage of deaths in Myanmar than anywhere else in Southeast Asia.
“The death rate has fallen just a small amount – less than 11 percent since the disease’s peak in the country in 2007,” Theo Vos, a professor at IHME, told The Myanmar Times.
He cautioned that the epidemic’s impact remains greater here than in neighbouring countries.
“HIV/AIDS, as of 2010, was still responsible for 5pc of deaths in Myanmar – more than any other country in the region,” he said. “In addition, the decrease in the mortality rate is modest compared with progress that has been made by countries such as Thailand, where it has been reduced by more than half, or even Cambodia.”
Mr Vos said that by applying a disability-adjusted life year (DALY) measurement – the sum total of years of life lost due to premature death and disability – researchers have been able to capture the true burden that HIV/AIDS puts on society.
“Our studies take into account premature mortality – hugely important for a disease that largely impacts young people,” Mr Vos said. “And young people who die lose more potential years of life than old people who die.
“For example, the slow rate of decline in HIV/AIDS burden in Myanmar compared to Thailand indicates that Myanmar can learn from Thailand how to accelerate progress in HIV control.”
He said Thailand had been proactive in implementing educational programs as well as introducing a decentralised model where patients can access better levels of treatment and coverage.
Eamonn Murphy, country coordinator at UNAIDS Myanmar, said that in spite of the study’s grim news, there has been major progress since 2010 in controlling the incidence of the disease in Myanmar.
Mr Murphy said up to 50pc of patients now have access to treatment and the Myanmar government has committed to reaching 85pc of those infected by 2016. He said that increased funding alone is not enough to combat the spread and impact of the disease.
“What we also need to do is address issues like social stigma and legal barriers ... which are still causing a huge problem.”
http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national-news/7945-hiv-among-top-health-burdens-study-finds.html
