Here is a short piece about methadone in Pyin Oo Lwin. There are arguments for and against situating methadone services in drop in centres versus other health service settings.

[him] moderator

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Methadone dispensing from HAARP’s drop-in-centre (DIC) in Pyin Oo Lwin makes life easier for IDUs
form HAARP Quarterly Newsletter
October 2011

‘As methadone is available in Pyin Oo Lwin, we do not need to travel 35 miles every day to reach the drug treatment centre in Mandalay and it saves money and time for us.’
(male IDU, 2011)

The MoH in Myanmar initiated MMT services in February 2006. The benefits of using it have been convincing. As part of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) round 9, MMT will be scaled up to reach 4000 IDUs. The HAARP Country Program (CP) established a methadone dispensing site in the project’s DIC in Pyin Oo Lwin in November 2010. The clinic is run by a medical doctor, an administrative and finance officer, and one outreach worker. At the end of August 2011, the total number of registered clients was 112, out of which 52 were IDUs. This has significantly eased the burden on the client in terms of financial and opportunity costs, and has helped to support client adherence. More dispensing sites should be opened within DICs as part of integrating service delivery rather than setting up individual services.

http://www.haarp-online.org/NewsEvents/HAARPQuarterlyNewsletter.aspx