Press Release
10 August 2006
UK gives £20 million to save 1 million lives in Burma
Gareth Thomas, International Development Minister, today announced a £20 million ($36m) contribution to a new fund, the Three Diseases Fund, to help fight TB, malaria and HIV and AIDS in Burma as part of a £55 million ($100m) joint donor programme over the next five years.
The funding will support prevention, treatment and care for the most vulnerable in Burma, which is suffering from a major burden of disease and death from these three diseases. The new resources will be targeted at a local level and be delivered by a combination of international NGOs, UN agencies, local NGOs and community groups, the private sector, and local-level public health staff.
The Fund is a joint response to Burma’s public health needs, developed by a group of six donors which include Australia, the European Commission, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. The Netherlands has agreed to contribute €3 million, with €1 million to be disbursed in 2006.
Gareth Thomas said:
“Burma is facing an emerging public health crisis. The combined impact of malaria, TB and HIV is creating real suffering amongst the poorest and most vulnerable groups in the country.
“We cannot afford to ignore this crisis for any longer. The new fund will ensure that vital resources reach those who need them and are delivered effectively, through international and local bodies.
“We know that working in Burma is difficult but our recent experience makes us believe that it is possible to make a difference. The aim is to reduce the infection and fatality rates for all of these diseases, and thus save the lives of more than 1 million people during the life of the programme.”
The new fund will build upon DFID’s previous work in Burma, including support
to the
Fund for HIV/AIDS in Myanmar (FHAM). Activities the fund will support
include:
- promotion of safe sexual behaviour, including condom use, particularly in commercial sex settings;
- greater access to affordable condoms;
- improved access to voluntary and confidential HIV counselling and testing
- care and treatment services for those living with HIV and AIDS;
- harm reduction services, including needle and syringe exchange and methadone substitution programmes;
- expansion of TB diagnosis and treatment facilities, and strengthening of TB monitoring and surveillance systems;
- greater use of long lasting insecticide treated mosquito nets; and
- more access to effective malaria treatment in both the public and private sector.
Notes for editors
1. Malaria and TB are major causes of death in Burma and deaths from AIDS will increase rapidly in the near future. In 2005 there were nearly 3000 officially reported deaths from malaria but the real number is certainly much bigger. This accounts for more than 50 per cent of all malaria related deaths in the whole of Asia. There are nearly 100,000 new cases of TB and 12,000 deaths each year.
2. It is estimated that more than 300,000 adults were infected with HIV in 2004, representing 1.3 percent of the population. There are an estimated 25,000 new infections each year. The pattern of HIV and AIDS infection is of particular concern, with significant spreading of the disease among younger people. Burma also has very high infection rates amongst high risk groups, in some locations reaching 55 per cent among sex workers and 60 per cent among IV drug users.
3. The emerging public health crisis is being made worse by limited public expenditure on social services and health in particular, with government spending per capita at less than 35p a year (1999), five percent of the minimum recommended by the World Bank. There is a widespread shortage of trained staff, equipment and supplies, whilst the presence of fake and substandard drugs results in ineffective treatment and worrying levels of drug resistance.
4. DFID’s contribution to the Fund for HIV/AIDS in Myanmar (FHAM) which provided £10 million over three years, showed that well targeted health activities can benefit the poor and vulnerable in Burma. Achievements included:
- increased access to condoms. 48 million condoms were distributed in 2005;
- voluntary and confidential HIV counselling and testing. 160,000 people received voluntary and confidential testing in 2005, compared to only 800 in 2002;
- AIDS patients receiving treatment in the public sector. By mid 2006, 3,400 patients were receiving treatment from NGO clinics and in public hospital; and
- increased access to harm reduction services for people who inject drugs. In 2005, outreach and drop-in centres distributed 1,100,000 clean needles, four times as many in 2003. Needs may still be ten to twenty times greater.
For further information, contact Nic Fearon-Low on 020 7023 0533 or 020 7023 0600, e-mail pressoffice@dfid.gov.uk or call our Public Enquiries Point on 0845 300 4100.
