Here is an interesting ‘one-pager’ from the UN’s “Humanitarian Information Centre for Myanmar” site. The [him] moderator wonders how much injecting drug use and ‘promiscuous contexts’ are taking place in the Delta these days.

[him] moderator

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HIV/AIDS in Myanmar                            
May 2008

Controlled by a military regime since 1962 and largely cut off from the outside world, the health and welfare of people in Myanmar is affected by repression and low intensity conflict.

Ethnic minorities, many of whom are displaced and live in border regions, are particularly vulnerable. Provisions for healthcare are inadequate, with 80 percent of people living in malaria risk areas and thousands going without treatment for conditions such as tuberculosis (TB) and HIV/AIDS.

1. HIV/AIDS in Myanmar

47,758,181    Population of Myanmar (May 2008 est.)
.
360,000    Estimated number of people living with HIV/AIDS by the end of 2005

1.3%    Estimated percentage of adults (ages 15-49) living with HIV by end of 2005

31%    Estimated percentage of HIV cases that occurred among women (ages 15-49) by the end of 2005

37,000    Estimated number of deaths due to AIDS during 2003

76,000     Estimated ARV needs

5,000        People on ARV treatment

Sources: Statistical data provided by the UN, World Bank, WHO, UNAIDS, CIA World Factbook.

2. HIV-related activities for Early Recovery

* Mainstreaming of HIV in Early Recovery assessments
* HIV/AIDS Prevention activities in the light of increased vulnerabilities and risk factors to HIV/AIDS transmission (gender based violence, promiscuous contexts, injecting drug use and poor access to HIV-related services including condom, PEP…) – we need to use all possible avenues for PREVENTION
* Mainstreaming of cross-cutting issues throughout early recovery activities including livelihood – ensuring that people living with HIV get same access to services and programs such as livelihood…
* Mapping of services (inventory of needs including HIV-related needs)

3. Contacts

Veronique Maeva Fages
HIV Policy Adviser
HIV/AIDS Liaison Unit
UNDP Office in Geneva - Switzerland
Tel + 41 22 917 8264
veronique.fages@undp.org

4. Guidance

For further reference, please find below the link to the IASC guidelines for HIV in humanitarian situations. Note that the guidelines are currently being revised and updated.

http://data.unaids.org/Publications/External-Documents/IASC_Guidelines-Emergency-Settings_en.pdf

http://myanmar.humanitarianinfo.org/recovery/Reference%20Documents/One-pager%20on%20HIV%20AIDS%20and%20early%20recovery%20in%20Myanmar.doc