Yesterday part of a Total press release had information about HIV treatment. Here is more about the petrochemical consortium funding for TB and HIV. The article is not yet up on the Myanmar Times web site.

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Yadana group provides $4m for HIV treatment
Thomas Kean
Myanmar Times 21 - 27 December 2009

A CONSORTIUM of companies that operates the country's largest natural gas project will provide US$4 million for a five-year HIV treatment program, a statement released on December 15 said.

The Yadana Consortium will fund the provision of antiretroviral treatment to 2000 HIV patients over the next five years, under a program being implemented in Mandalay and Pakokku by the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (also known as the Union) and the Ministry of Health.

The program provides integrated TB-HIV care through the public health system.

The program is a pioneer collaboration between the public health sector, an international non-governmental organisation and the private sector in Myanmar, the Union said in a statement.

Under the direction of Dr Philippe Clevenbergh of the Union, it has grown steadily and now covers a population of approximately 1.5 million people in the seven townships of Mandalay and in Pakokku.

The [Integrated HIV Care for TB Patients Living with HIV/AIDS] Program in Myanmar offers a model for managing the TB-HIV co-epidemics that can show the way for other countries facing the same challenges with limited resources, said Dr Nils E Billo, the executive director of the Union.

The program began as a pilot project in 2005 in five townships in Mandalay Division. From 2005 to 2009, the Yadana Consortium provided $200,000 in annual funding.

The Yadana Consortium is comprised of Total E&P Myanmar, Unocal (now Chevron), Thailands PTTEP and the Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise.