Global fund seeks possibility to re-engage in Myanmar with its aid efforts for fighting diseases

www.chinaview.cn 2009-02-27 13:33:06
By Feng Yingqiu

YANGON, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- A four-member mission of the Global Fund, led by William Paton, Director of Country Programs is currently visiting Myanmar to seek possibility to re-engage with its aid efforts in the country for fighting AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

The mission of the Global Fund, which pulled out from Myanmar four years ago, is coordinating with a 29-member Myanmar Country Coordinating Mechanism (MCCM), headed by the health minister, for the move.

The MCCM includes 10 members from the government ministries, four from the United Nations agencies and four from international non-governmental organizations.

The global fund delegation, which has been visiting Myanmar since Tuesday for a four-day mission at the invitation of the Myanmar government, is holding discussions with the MCCM and the global organization is expected to make a formal comeback by 2010.

At a reception held here on Wednesday, Sun Gang, Country Coordinator of the UNAIDS, told Xinhua that respective parties are making their utmost efforts for fighting the AIDS, TB and malaria.

The global fund withdrew from Myanmar in August 2005, suspending its grants to Myanmar for the campaign.

In 2006, a new fund called the Three-Disease (3-D) Fund was developed as a compensation by a group of six donors -- the European Commission, Sweden's Sida, the Netherlands, United Kingdom's Department for International Development, Norway and Australia's Aus AID.

A five-year 3-D fund project to fight HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria, worth about 100 million U.S. dollars, started implementation in April 2006 under the guidance of the MCCM.

The 3-D fund was extended through the World Health Organization(WHO) which administers the program under a memorandum of understanding signed in 2007.

The 3-D fund provided the country with four million dollars for use in 2007-08 and 5.7 million dollars for use in 2008-09, earlier reports said.

In a recent report, the 3-D fund has provided nine non-governmental organizations in Myanmar this year with a total of 630,000 U.S. dollars to fight the three diseases.

The fund will be used for the projects in Kachin, Mon, Shan, Kayin, Rakhine, Yangon and Mandalay states and divisions.

Meanwhile, a latest report of the UNAIDS said that the number of people infected with HIV in Myanmar dropped to 240,000 in 2007 from 300,000 in 2001.

In the wake of the danger being posed by the three diseases on the public health, Myanmar has taken steps to control the three disease as a national duty.

In its efforts to control AIDS, the Central Committee for Control and Elimination of AIDS was formed in 1989.

As part of the project for control of AIDS and syphilis, efforts are being made for giving educative talks on AIDS, for 100-percent use of condoms in targeted groups in 170 townships in the country and for effective treatment of sexually transmitted diseases.

Work is also underway for preventing spread of HIV among those who use drugs through injection and from mother to fetus at 37 hospitals and 106 townships, while preventing such spread through blood transfusion and introducing safe blood transfusion.

Besides, 13 strategies on preventive measures and rehabilitation are now being implemented under five-year national strategic plan (2006-2010) adopted collectively by the relevant ministries, local non-governmental organizations, UN agencies and community-based organizations.

In cooperation with foreign organizations in the fight, Myanmar is actively taking part in implementing the ASEAN HIV/AIDS Control Plan, the HIV Prevention Plan in Mekong Region countries, and regional and central level plans of UN agencies.

Moreover, Myanmar is also cooperating with neighboring countries to combat and control TB and HIV/AIDS under a special plan.

HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria are the three major communicable diseases of national concern designated by Myanmar.

Myanmar treats the three diseases as priority with the main objectives of reducing the morbidity and mortality in a bid to meet the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations.

In its prevention efforts against malaria, the Myanmar government has distributed 50,000 long lasting insecticidal nets annually since 2000 to hardly accessible areas of national races with up to 400,000 existing bed nets also impregnated with insecticide annually since then.