Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05RANGOON167
2005-02-08 06:06:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Rangoon
Cable title:  

EMINENT HIV/AIDS RESEARCHER EXPECTS AIDS TO "TAKE

Tags:  TBIO SOCI PGOV EAID KHIV BM 
pdf how-to read a cable
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

080606Z Feb 05
UNCLAS RANGOON 000167 

SIPDIS

BANGKOK FOR MATTHEW FRIEDMAN/USAID AND BANGKOK ESTH

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TBIO SOCI PGOV EAID KHIV BM
SUBJECT: EMINENT HIV/AIDS RESEARCHER EXPECTS AIDS TO "TAKE
OFF" IN BURMA


UNCLAS RANGOON 000167

SIPDIS

BANGKOK FOR MATTHEW FRIEDMAN/USAID AND BANGKOK ESTH

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TBIO SOCI PGOV EAID KHIV BM
SUBJECT: EMINENT HIV/AIDS RESEARCHER EXPECTS AIDS TO "TAKE
OFF" IN BURMA



1. Summary: On February 1, COM and emboffs met with Dr.
Robert C. Gallo, co-discoverer of the HIV virus, and
representatives of WHO, UNOCAL Myanmar Offshore Co. Ltd., and
Total E&P Myanmar to discuss HIV/AIDS in Burma. Dr. Gallo,
guest of TOTAL, was on a three-day visit to Rangoon, meeting
with the GOB, holding presentations for local HIV/AIDS
organizations and the NGO community, and advising the two oil
companies on ways to foster HIV awareness in the private
sector. Dr. Gallo fears that AIDS in Burma is on track to
rival prevalence rates of some of Africa's worst-case
countries. He recommends increased drug therapy and more
effective surveillance. End Summary.


2. Dr. Robert C. Gallo, a co-discover of the HIV virus, and
one of the first to publish findings on the connection
between the HIV virus and AIDS, is the founder and director
of the Institute of Human Virology (IHV) in Maryland. Dr.
Gallo pioneered the development of the HIV blood test,
discovered natural compounds that block the HIV virus,
contributed to the development of life-prolonging HIV
therapies, and worked on the development of an HIV vaccine.
Dr. Gallo, Dr. Agostino Borra (WHO Representative),and
officers of TOTAL and UNOCAL oil companies made a courtesy
call on the COM to discuss HIV/AIDS in Burma and what private
sector organizations such as TOTAL and UNOCAL are doing to
foster HIV awareness and to improve conditions for
HIV-positive workers.


3. Dr. Gallo observed that the two greatest needs for
fighting HIV/AIDS in Burma are improved availability of anti
retroviral treatment (ART) and a better HIV/AIDS surveillance
system for more quickly identifying new cases. In a
subsequent evening lecture attended by poloff, Dr. Gallo
noted that "AIDS is well-established in Burma and is ready to
take off." He fears that it won't be long before Burma has
the highest prevalence rate in Asia and becomes decimated by
AIDS, like some African countries.


4. WHO, TOTAL, and UNOCAL are working toward building
private sector support for HIV/AIDS programming and
prevention, and ending employment termination of HIV-positive
workers. TOTAL and UNOCAL have stopped this discriminating
practice, but Dr. Gallo informed that an international
business leader in Rangoon apologetically confessed that his
company still fires workers if they contract HIV/AIDS, as
providing ART is not cost effective. This practice, common
among companies in Rangoon, as well as within the military,
adds to the stigma of HIV/AIDS and discourages workers from
being tested, furthering the spread of the virus.


5. Another issue Gallo and Borra addressed was the growing
problem of drug-resistant strains of HIV, caused by patient
non-compliance to the drug regiment, weak or ineffective ART
drugs, or insufficient dosages. Uncontrolled ART
administered by the private sector is considered a serious
problem and is contributing to growing drug resistance. The
misuse of ART causes a drug-resistant strain of HIV to
develop, which may then be passed to others and is largely
untreatable. This problem has serious health implications,
regionally and globally.


6. Dr. Gallo reported that his several meetings with the
Minister and Deputy Minister of Health went better than
expected, as the minister was surprisingly open, even
requesting Dr. Gallo to "ask him the hard questions." The
minister also requested that Dr. Gallo "carry a message"
about U.S. sanctions on Burma that "the power structure of
Burma would not change due to these measures, but that the
poor people of Burma were suffering because of them." The
COM responded that the U.S. would consider removing the
sanctions if the GOB made some positive steps toward change,
and that mismanagement of the economy by the GOB had a great
deal more to do with poverty in Burma than any U.S. measures.



7. Although the GOB seems to be taking a more open stance on
HIV/AIDS issues, they remain guarded about other sensitive
health topics. Dr. Gallo opined that they dislike hearing
certain statistics or discussing problems such as child
mortality and malnutrition. Statements like "thirty percent
of the children in Burma are malnourished" make them
extremely uneasy, Gallo said.


8. Comment: Dr. Gallo's visit to Burma was well-received by
the GOB, the international community, and NGOs. His visit
may help to further encourage the GOB to be more supportive
of HIV/AIDS issues and to involve other government ministries
in a more broad-based approach to fighting the rapidly
growing AIDS epidemic in Burma. End Comment.
Martinez