Myanmar government's lying

[tinkyi@xxxxxxx]

Myanmar denies government ignoring HIV/AIDS
06:04 a.m. Dec 02, 1998 Eastern

By Chris Johnson
BANGKOK, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military government denied on
Wednesday that it was ignoring the problem of HIV and AIDS, saying it had
organised a range of measures to prevent and control the spread of the
disease.

Responding to recent criticism by United Nations agencies that it had no
``serious'' programmes to combat the human immunodeficiency virus or help
people with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, the government said it had
observed World AIDS Day on December 1.

It said the country had a series of educational programmes to raise
awareness of HIV and AIDS and had organised speeches and a workshop on the
problem.

``It is surprising to note that some of the Western media have wrongly
reported that the government commitment to fight the narcotic and HIV/AIDS
problem in the country is not enough,'' the government said in a statement.

``In Myanmar, AIDS prevention and control activities have been conducted
with efforts of the various government departments and the NGOs
(non-governmental organisation).''

The statement gave no details of the numbers of people affected by HIV or
AIDS in Myanmar. Nor did it give concrete examples of how it was preventing
the disease.

The United Nations Children's Organisation (UNICEF) has said Myanmar and its
eastern neighbour Cambodia could face AIDS epidemics of ``Africa-like''
proportions unless they implement quickly effective preventive programmes.

The two countries, along with Thailand, have the highest rates of AIDS and
HIV infection in the region, UNICEF data show.

But unlike Thailand, which has highly publicised and well-funded campaigns
to promote the use of condoms, Myanmar and Cambodia ``have serious problems
but do not yet have serious programmes,'' according to Kul Gautam, UNICEF's
director for East Asia and the Pacific.

By last year, according to UNICEF, some 15,000 children in Myanmar
population 47 million -- had been orphaned  by AIDS and the country had a
``very high'' rate of HIV infection, affecting between one and 2.4 percent
of the adult population.

Other NGO officials have said Myanmar is in a state of ``denial'' over HIV
and AIDS and has taken few of the steps needed to stop the disease from
spreading, such as distributing condoms or screening blood.

Widespread intravenous drug abuse means the virus could soon reach epidemic
proportions, they say.

But the Myanmar government said on Wednesday it had taken many positive
steps to combat the problem, including providing counselling services.

``Efforts are well under way to ensure universal blood safety,'' it said.

``Considering the fact that people with STD (sexually transmitted disease)
infection are more prone to get HIV infection, STD teams have been
strengthened throughout the country.''

The government statement said Myanmar Health Minister Saw Tun gave a speech
to Yangon's International Business Centre on Tuesday to mark World AIDS Day,
explaining the efforts the country had made to fight the problem.