Description:
Executive Summary:
"The HIV epidemics in Myanmar remain
largely concentrated among people identified with
high-risk behaviours, in particular sex workers
and their clients, injecting drug users and men
having sex with men; and populations identified
as highly vulnerable on the basis of their young
age, gender, mobility and social or occupational
characteristics. This focus of the epidemics calls for
the urgent strengthening of prevention, care and
treatment programmes addressing primarily the
needs of these populations. The responses to the
HIV epidemic to date have been diverse and great
sources of learning, and demonstrated the capacity
to respond to the HIV epidemic successfully in
Myanmar, but are not being implemented to a
scale sufficiently enough to slow down the epidemic
or mitigate its impact.
Confronting an unabated HIV epidemic,
the Government of Myanmar decided to
embark on a comprehensive prevention, care and
treatment strategy which would build on the
experience and enrol the participation of all actors
committed to this goal. Accordingly, this National
Strategic Plan was the first in Myanmar developed
using participator y processes, with direct
involvement of all sectors involved in the national
response to the HIV epidemic. Contributions were
made by the Ministry of Health, several other
government ministries, United Nations entities,
local non-government organizations, international
non-government organizations, people living with
HIV and people from vulnerable groups. The
National Strategic Plan 2006 ?? 2010 was
prepared following a series of reviews which looked
at the progress and experiences of activities during
the first half of the decade. These included a midterm
review of the Joint Programme for HIV/
AIDS in 2005 and a review of the National
AIDS Programme in 2006, as well as many
diverse studies and reviews of particular
programmes and projects. The National Strategic
Plan identifies what is now required to improve
national and local responses, bring partners together
to reinforce the effectiveness of all responses, and
build more effective management, coordination,
monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. It builds
on current responses, identifies initiatives which
are working and need to be scaled up to have
maximum impact, builds on key principles which
will underline the national response, outlines
broadly the approaches to be used for prevention,
treatment, care and support, and delineates strategic
directions and activity areas to be further developed
in order to mitigate the impact of the epidemic.
Ambitious service delivery targets have been set,
aiming towards ? to prevention
and care services.
The National Strategic Plan is
composed of two parts: Part One, presenting
background information, aim, objectives, key
principles, strategic directions, approaches and
information on roles of participating entities and
coordinating mechanisms; and Part Two,
presenting, for each strategic direction activity area,
outcomes, outputs, indicators and targets. The
subsequent formulation of a Plan of Operations
and accompanying budgets will translate key
principles and broad directions set out in the strategic
plan into a directly actionable and costed plan
relevant to all aspects of the national response to
HIV and to all partners in this unprecedented
effort.
Building on previous experiences and
lessons learned by all partners about what
works best in the specific context of Myanmar,
the National Strategic Plan identifies the key
principles underpinning both the plan itself and its future implementation. Among these are: the
adherence to the "Three Ones" principles ?? One
HIV and AIDS Action Framework; one
National Coordinating Authority; and one
Monitoring and Evaluation System ?? the
participation of people living with HIV in every
aspect and at every stage of the strategy, a primary
emphasis on outcomes, defined as targeted
behaviour changes and use of services; and a focus
on the Township level with selected "Accelerated
Townships" receiving support towards accelerated
programme implementation. Key principles bring
into focus populations at higher risk and
vulnerability and with the greatest needs, ensuring
that their needs are met to the maximum extent
possible and that their participation in activities
concerning them is secured. The development and
implementation of an enabling environment is
central to this approach, recognizing the negative
effects that lack of information, inequality,
discrimination and non-participation have on the
reduction of HIV related risk and vulnerability.
The strategy will strive to scale up programme
coverage and use of services to the maximum
achievable levels of resource availability and
implementing capacity. It will build on evidence as
strategic information guides decision and action
and will achieve value for money as financial and
other resources are incrementally mobilized and
efficiently used. Working across sectors of
government will gradually expand as capacity
is built. The strategy will rely on collaboration
between government and other public, private
and non-government entities while
mechanisms for coordination at the central
and peripheral levels are enhanced.
The National Strategic Plan for
Myanmar aims at reducing HIV transmission
and HIV related morbidity, mortality, disability
and social and economic impact. Its objectives are
to: reduce HIV transmission and vulnerability,
particularly among people at highest risk; improve
the quality and length of life of people living with
HIV through treatment, care and support; and
mitigate the social, cultural and economic impacts
of the epidemic.
Strategic directions are primarily defined
on the basis of beneficiary populations. They
include the reduction of HIV-related risk,
vulnerability and impact among sex workers and
their clients, men who have sex with men, drug
users, partners and families of people living with
HIV, institutionalized populations, mobile
populations, uniformed services personnel, young
people, individuals in the workplace and, more
generally, men and women of reproductive age. They
strive to meet the needs of people living with HIV
for comprehensive care, support and treatment
through the scaling up of services and use of a
participatory approach. In order to expand
the ability of all actors to engage fully in this
collaborative effort, strategic directions also include
the enhancement of the capacity of health systems
and the strengthening of comprehensive monitoring
and evaluation mechanisms.
This National Strategic Plan is a
living document: it lends itself to adjustments and
revisions as further experience is gained, resources
are mobilized and evidence of success and
shortcomings is generated through monitoring,
special studies and mid-term and end-of-term
evaluations."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Health, Union of Myanmar
Date of Publication:
2007-02-23
Date of entry:
2010-10-26
Grouping:
- Individual Documents
Category:
Language:
English