Associated Press examines access to antiretroviral treatment in Myanmar

The Associated Press examines access to antiretroviral treatment in Myanmar, which "ranks among the world's hardest places to get HIV care, and health experts warn it will take years to prop up a broken health system hobbled by decades of neglect." The country, also known as Burma, has been hindered by decades of rule by a military junta and economic sanctions imposed by developed countries, including the U.S., the AP notes, and writes, "Of the estimated 240,000 people living with HIV [in the country], half are going without treatment." However, "as Myanmar wows the world with its reforms, the U.S. and other nations are easing sanctions," the news agency writes, adding, "The Global Fund [to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria] recently urged Myanmar to apply for more assistance that would make up the shortfall and open the door for HIV drugs to reach more than 75 percent of those in need by the end of 2015," as well as medications to fight tuberculosis (TB). The AP details one man's efforts to obtain antiretrovirals, which are reserved for patients with CD4 cell counts below 150 cells, versus the WHO recommended 350 (Mason, 10/22).