UNODC is cosponsor of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS - UNAIDS
UNODC Projects in Myanmar
:: HIV/AIDS and Injecting Drug Use
The HIV/AIDS prevalence in Southeast Asia is one of the fastest growing in the world. An estimated six million people are already infected with the HIV virus in the region, with India, Thailand, Myanmar and Indonesia accounting for 99% of that total. UNAIDS estimates that there are between 170,000 and 620,000 people infected with HIV in Myanmar. Injecting drug use is one of the primary means of transmission of HIV/AIDS in the country (after heterosexual sex), attributable for approximately 30% of all new infections. As such, reducing HIV vulnerability from injecting drug use is an important part of UNODC's work in the country.
UNODC's activities in this area are integrated into partnership initiatives between UN agencies, INGOs, NGOs and the Myanmar Government. In 2002, this collaboration led to the development of the Joint Programme for HIV/AIDS in Myanmar 2003-2005. The Joint Programme recognises five main areas for intervention and is financed through a joint funding mechanism known as the Fund for HIV/AIDS in Myanmar (FHAM).
One of the five areas for intervention identified by the Joint Programme is HIV vulnerability from injecting drug use. UNODC has taken a leading role in working to reduce this vulnerability and is currently implementing two projects: the operation of a Technical Coordination Unit (TCU) to synchronize the efforts of implementing partners; and Reducing Injecting Drug Use and its Harmful Consequences in the Union of Myanmar (AD/MYA/03/G54).
