Here is a report on the activities of a group of people living with HIV in Myanmar. How does one measure a reduction in discrimination?
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Speaking out against HIV discrimination in Myanmar
For World AIDS Day 2007, Alliance Myanmar's message was that people, especially those living with HIV, need to speak out to stop HIV discrimination. Despite official estimates that 1.3% of the population is living with HIV, Myanmar's society remains conservative. Many are reluctant to discuss HIV, which is causing widespread stigma and discrimination.
One organisation that has been speaking out about HIV in Myanmar is Myanmar Positive Group, one of Alliance Myanmar's partners. For World AIDS Day, Myanmar Positive Group decided to lead by example and invited the community to an art exhibition on HIV positive leaders in Myanmar. The exhibition aimed to show that anyone who wants to be involved in the HIV response can do it; they just need to 'take the lead' -- the theme of 2007 international World AIDS Day.
The five-day exhibition featured pictures of positive people who have led the HIV movement in Myanmar, advocated for universal access and have been brave enough to challenge stigma and discrimination. In addition to showing the feelings, work and personal commitments of the individuals featured, the exhibition demonstrated the importance of people living with HIV being involved in decision-making and the design of programmes. Over 400 community members were featured in the exhibition, including people from local community based organisations, NGOs, and UN agencies. People living with HIV, men who have sex with men, sex workers, and injecting drug users also featured.
Other World AIDS Day activities: campaigns and support
For the first time in Myanmar, Myanmar Positive Group organised and joined the worldwide pledge campaign to demand action from world leaders to keep their promise for universal access to prevention, care and treatment. Two-hundred and twenty-six people, including people living with HIV, signed their pledges and added their photos to the 'Take the lead' posters, which were sent in through the Alliance.
Myanmar Positive Group also marked World AIDS Day by visiting positive people in hospitals. Group members visited nearly 200 people in two Yangon hospitals, giving them food and essential items they had collected. The visits aimed to support and encourage the people in hospitals, and some were able to share their own experiences of recovery to inspire those in hospital not to give up.
About Myanmar Positive Group
Myanmar Positive Group is a network of people living with HIV. It was created as part of the GIPA (Greater Involvement of People Living with HIV and AIDS) Project Initiative Group with technical support from the Alliance and UNDP.
Myanmar Positive Group's main objectives are:
* to reduce stigma and discrimination through advocacy work with faith-based organisations;
* to have representation at the national, regional and international levels for people living with HIV; and
* to build the capacity of people living with HIV.
In addition to its World AIDS Day projects, Myanmar Positive Group conducted seven capacity-building training sessions in 2007 on positive prevention, counselling, opportunistic infections, antiretroviral treatment, and training a core set of HIV positive trainers.
http://www.aidsalliance.org/sw53197.asp
