PROJECT
ABSTRACT:
Myanmar is ranked as a high burden country of HIV/AIDS in Asia
with an estimated 216,000 people living with HIV, of whom, approximately a
third is women. According to Asian Development Bank (ADB), the epidemic has had
an adverse impact on the Myanmar economy and will continue to do so at a macro,
regional, and household level. While impacts due to the direct cost of
prevention and treatment are high, the indirect costs due to productivity loss,
higher wages, and loss of skills can be much higher and have a significant
effect on the country's development.
Additionally, the distribution of these
impacts is quite uneven especially the poor who suffer the most since they have
the least access to services and information and the least ability to protect
themselves or obtain treatment. Since
2003 Myanmar government, with the support of international donors, has been
implementing different HIV intervention programs in cooperation with local and
international NGOs. This coordinated effort has yield result in reducing HIV
transmission as well as number of people die from HIV related diseases. At the
same time, affected populations have been encouraged to form groups and allowed
to participate in the HIV response. It has been recognized that civil society
has played major role in achieving success in controlling HIV in Myanmar and
embedded in the National Strategic Plan on HIV in Myanmar 2011-2015. But with
the introduction of the life saving HIV drug in Myanmar, the number of HIV
infected healthy people is increasing and need to be addressed for them to be
in the stable occupation for regular income.
Phoenix is an association formed in
2005 with HIV infected and affected people from different parts of the country,
to improve people living with HIV in accessing health care services as well as create
job opportunity and generate regular incomes.
This innovative model has been recognized and supported by different
stakeholders, and being shared for replication in country. The organization has
done a gender assessment to identify gender issues and gaps, and then to mainstream
gender into programs by properly addressing those needs. This proposed project would
try to fill those gaps by providing series of gender mainstreaming training
including coaching and mentoring to senior staff and establishing appropriate
monitoring system to track the progress and challenges.
The lessons learned from this project will be
shared to partners for replication of similar models in Myanmar. This will
further contributes for achieving the country's national level policies such as
a strategic priority for community system
strengthening: promote meaningful participation and empowerment of PLHIV under
National HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan (2011-2015), and the National Strategic Plan
for the Advancement of Women (NSPAW) to achieve the improvement of women and
fully enjoy their right in accordance with the features of the
Constitution of Republic of the Union of Myanmar (2008).
