Most headlines are not written by the authors of the article but by editors. The [him] moderator sees no evidence here that Ratana Metta has struggled and has not heard that they will have to struggle to fund ART treatment. Good to see positive prevention highlighted.
[him] moderator
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In Yangon, free clinic struggles to fund ART treatment
Ma Thanegi
Myanmar Times
A GROUP of people meet at Yangon University in 1958 and become friends. Following graduation many of them find success, working in stressful, high-level positions in a variety of sectors.
After working for many years they eventually retire from their respective jobs but still feel the need to contribute to Myanmar society. So in 2004 they get together to form a Yangon-based nongovernmental organisation dedicated to providing medical treatment for people who have been diagnosed with HIV.
This is the story of the Ratana Metta Organisation, a network of about 200 friends and volunteers who are committed to making an impact on the lives of those in need.
“We wanted to do something in the healthcare sector so we opened the Ratana Metta Free Clinic in 2005 staffed by one friend who acted as volunteer doctor,” said U Myint Swe, the president of the organisation.
“Now we have three full-time doctors plus some nurses. We can’t pay them what they are worth, but even so these wonderful people donate a portion of their salaries back to the clinic.”
For the first few years the clinic could only treat opportunistic infections in HIV patients, such as diarrhoea, pneumonia and herpes, but in 2008 the clinic obtained permission from the Ministry of Health to give out free antiretroviral (ART) medication.
“We have more than 1500 patients at the clinic, and of those there are 500 who need ART treatment. At first we only had enough medication for 10 patients but now we can provide it to 100 people,” U Myint Swe said.
The two-storey clinic, located next to Shwegyin Dhammayone on Shwedagon Pagoda Road, is equipped with curtained-off beds where patients are treated by doctors. There is no lab on the premises, so patients who need blood tests are sent to another facility. Those who require hospitalisation are sent to Waybargi Infectious Diseases Hospital.
The clinic has a rather run down feel, although it is clean and neat; every kyat is needed for the patients.
“We give financial support to those who need to be hospitalised. Should they pass away we also support their families with funeral costs,” U Myint Swe said.
He said that many patients suffer from panic and depression when they first learn that they are infected with HIV.
“Sometimes it’s so bad that they attempt suicide. As Myanmar is a Buddhist majority country, we give counselling according to Buddhist concepts. This does not mean we are missionaries; people of other faiths are also welcomed,” he said.
He explained that the counselling is based on the Buddhist concept of impermanence and the fact that everyone must die sooner or later.
“A healthy person can get run over by a truck anytime, and an HIV-infected person can live a full, long life. The Buddhist way of life is to focus on the present and be aware of what we are doing, which means we are able live in the best way possible,” U Myint Swe said.
“We also educate patients about taking precautions against spreading the disease: To have no concern about giving HIV to others is like breaking the first Buddhist precept, which is that it is forbidden to kill,” he said.
The clinic also runs a program in which volunteers pay monthly visits to the homes of HIV patients to check on their health.
“The volunteers are mostly peers of people living with HIV. There are now 78 volunteers but we are training 10 more plus two supervisors. We send them to their own communities to create a sense of ease,” he said.
The Ratana Metta Organisation has also set up local committees in villages and neighbourhoods where they have patients.
“We work closely with these committees, not in a vertical administrative manner but in a lateral and democratic way. They know their neighbours better than we do, and they’re truly dedicated to helping their communities,” U Myint Swe said.
He said that since the clinic opened in 2005 the number of patients has doubled each year. The majority are women who have been infected by their husbands, as well as children infected by their mothers.
However, due to lack of funds the clinic was forced to stop accepting new patients at the end of last year, he said.
A significant portion of the clinic’s financial burden comes from administering free ART medication. The cost for a single patient is about K25,000 a month, or K300,000 a year.
U Myint Swe said the clinic gets some support from international organisations, but not nearly enough to do all the work it wants to accomplish. More help from domestic donors would be welcome, but social stigmas attached to HIV in Myanmar means that donations are slow to come from local sources.
“According to Ministry of Health statistics, in 2007 there were 240,000 people infected with HIV in Myanmar, of which about 70,000 to 80,000 got antiretroviral treatment,” he said.
“But on the whole, our country gets support to give ART treatment to only about 20 percent of that number, so you can imagine the disparity in requirement and fulfilment. We need more local donors, whatever amount they want to give. We cannot depend solely on outside support. ART for 20pc of 70,000 is a very tiny drop in the ocean.”
Ratana Metta Organisation main office
Shintharmanay Dhamma Beikman
Arzarni Road, Bahan township, Yangon
Tel: (95-1) 375-345
Email: ratanametta 2004@gmail.com
Ratana Metta Free Clinic
Shwegyin Dhammayon compound,
Shwedagon Pagoda Road, Dagon township, Yangon
Tel: (95-1) 241-830
The Ratana Metta Organisation’s headquarters and free clinic are open Monday to Friday (including public holidays), 8:30am to 4:30pm.
http://www.mmtimes.com/no494/n009.htm
