An oral presentation entitled HIV-related knowledge, attitudes, stigma, and testing history among Shan migrants in northern Thailand was delivered on August 4, at the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City. The conference was attended by an estimated 23,000 participants from all over the globe, including scientists, community leaders and activists, and political leaders, including Mexican president Felipe Calderon Hinojosa and Ban Ki-moon, Director-General of the United Nations.
The presentation shared results of a survey of over 180 Shan migrants living in the Fang area, done by Shan community health workers in 2007.
"Significant gaps in HIV knowledge exists in this population," noted the study's lead author and presenter, Dr. Washington. "98% of respondents answered at least one question on HIV transmission incorrectly. 93% of people believed you could get HIV from touching someone, and 70% believed you could get it from a mosquito bite."
In addition, stigma and fear against people with HIV was widespread, posing a significant barrier to getting tested. Noted Dr. Washington, "65% of people believed that HIV should be a secret or people would treat you badly."
The risk is especially elevated in Shan women. "Men were three times more likely than women to have heard of HIV, to have received education about HIV/AIDS, or have received an HIV test," said Dr. Washington.
Burma currently faces a severe HIV epidemic, amongst the worst in the region. However, the Burmese government spends less than half a cent per person per year on its HIV control programme while Thailand's equivalent is $1.43, according to figures published by UNAIDS in 2007. The situation is compounded by widespread human rights abuses in Shan State, which force many to flee their homes for Thailand, where they often live without documentation, unable to access health-related services, and frequently are forced to work in exploitative work conditions, including in Thailand's sex industry. Although reliable figures about the HIV epidemic in Burma remain lacking, it is known that the epidemic is most severe in Shan and Kachin States.
"Without addressing these root problems in Burma, especially in light of the many barriers to access to health programs in Thailand which persist today for Shan migrants, it is a virtual guarantee that Thailand will not be able to sustainably control HIV," noted Dr. Washington.
Added Dr. Vit, a co-author of the study, "With the theme of the conference being Universal Action Now!, the urgent need for further engaging with national governments in order to realize the goal of ending the global AIDS epidemic has been frequently emphasized at this conference. However, the Burmese government is creating the very vulnerabilities that lead people to HIV infection, sickness, and early death, and it is clear that they are, at best, only interested in creating a veneer of a dialogue. The root causes of this problem lie are political, and its long term solution also lies there."
Sai Awn Murng, a regular contributor to SHAN, sends this article from Mexico City. Official press media, in the meanwhile, announced earlier that the infection rate of HIV in Burma declined to 0.67% in 2007 from 0.94% in 2000, reported Xinhua, 5 August 2008 | Editor
