Opening speech to be delivered by Dr Stephan Paul Jost, WHO Representative to Myanmar
Mingalaba, Good Morning!
Your Excellency Dr. Myint Htwe the Union Minister for Ministry of Health and Sports,
Prof Thet Khaing Win and Dr Thar Tun Kyaw, Permanent Secretaries, Ministry of Health and Sports,
Dr Htun Nyunt Oo, Deputy Director, National AIDS Control Programme, Antonia Powell (Save the Children), National AIDS Programme staff, UNAIDS staff, Save the Children staff, WHO staff,
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure for me to welcome you in this HIV/AIDS Country Programme and the Key Populations Reviews.
Special thanks to all the International and National Consultants that compose the external Review Panels for the Key Populations and the Country Reviews.
Globally, in 2017, out of an estimated 37 million people living with HIV (PLHIV), around 22 million were receiving lifesaving Antiretroviral treatment (ART). Almost 1 million people died because of HIV/AIDS related disease in that year.
Since 2010 the provision of ART to prevent mother-to-child transmission helped avert 1.4 million child infections. There has been a 34% reduction in AIDS-related deaths compared to 2010.
Myanmar is a country in South East Asia which receives special attention not only for its high burden but also for its progress in controlling the epidemic.
Two weeks ago, a review of the country’s epidemiology on HIV/AIDS was organized by WHO and NAP.
The successful review has attested a significant decline of HIV prevalence, HIV new infection, and HIV mortality, while it also shows an increase of access to Antiretroviral Therapy, Prevention from Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT), and harm reduction coverage, that you will see in more detail in the presentation today.
In this key populations and country program reviews that we are here to initiate, WHO is appointed by the Ministry of Health to organize the process, jointly with Save the Children and NAP.
From our side, we have engaged the best national and international experts for this review and the preceded Epidemiological Review.
I am happy to see that the program review will also evaluate the important aspects that contribute to health system strengthening, such as the link with the universal health coverage plan, integrated models of service delivery, laboratory, human resource for health, and the procurement and supply management.
This is also the time to evaluate the program in an integrated point of view of disease control, therefore the management of co-infection with TB and viral hepatitis and harm reduction programs will be relevant subjects to review.
I also want to highlight that the community perspective and the human rights will be part of the entirely process.
Those hard works by the consultant team aim to ensure the best quality objective results of the review that will serve as a strong ground in developing the National Strategic Plans 2021-2025 as well as future fund raising process with external partners such as the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
We thank you for providing your time and your expertise for the review process, at the same time that we expect and wish a very productive and effective review process.
Please, during the eventual free time you may have, do not forget to enjoy your time in this beautiful country, Myanmar. Have a successful review.