Myanmar has sixth-most HIV infections among Asia-Pacific nations

Thirty people are infected with HIV every day in Myanmar, said Sports and Health Minister Dr Myint Htwe at a World AIDS Day event on Naypyidaw on December 2.

Yangon, Mandalay, Myitkyina, Hpakant and towns along the Thai-Myanmar border are at the highest risk of HIV infection, and Myanmar stands as the sixth-most infected country in the Asia-Pacific region, the minister said.

“This is not a good sign. Our Ministry of Health cannot prevent infections alone. We all have to collaborate,” he said.

According to government statistics, 29 percent of HIV patients in Myanmar contract the disease through drug use, 7 percent from prostitution, 13 percent from male-male sex and 23 percent from male clients of sex workers. According to UNAIDS, Myanmar had between 200,000 and 260,000 HIV patients in 2015.

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