Thousands of people are needlessly dying due to a severe lack of lifesaving HIV/AIDS treatment in Myanmar, says international humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in a report. Unable to continue shouldering the primary responsibility for responding to one of Asia's worst HIV...
"I am feeling a little uncomfortable," says Henry quietly, a middle-aged gentleman politely looking up at Clara from where he is lying on the dirty floor. Henry is so dehydrated his cheeks are completely sucked in and his eyes stand out in his closely cropped skull. Clara CHAMIZO, a first-mission...
Progress and challenges in HIV/AIDS care in prison in Thailand. – Is Minburi a model to develop nationwide? MSF's project in Minburi demonstrates that complex and life-long therapies can be implemented in prisons despite tight budget and human resource constraints. The experiment in Minburi proved...
While sex in prison remains taboo, both prisoners and prison staff understand the importance of prevention. HIV prevalence in jail is believed to be higher than in the general population, especially since most of the prisoners are incarcerated for drug-related offences and injecting drug users are...
From the outside, Minburi jail in the East of Bangkok looks like an ordinary prison Around 2,100 men and 400 women are serving sentences of less than seven years there, the majority of which are for drug-related crimes. Yet in 2003 Minburi set a precedent by becoming the first Thai prison to...
Injecting drug users in Thailand are among the highest risk groups for HIV transmission. According to the WHO, prevalence in this group has stayed consistently high over the last 15 years, ranging between 30% to 50% (WHO 2007). Stigma and discrimination against this marginalised population are...
MSF has been working with the Muslim community in the southern provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat since 2005, which has seen an increase in insurgency activity over the past four years. The lack of awareness about HIV/AIDS still keeps many from access to treatment and care. MSF project...
As the sun rises in Homa Bay, in western Kenya's Nyanza Province, Pamela gets her two-year-old son Pascal dressed and ready for the day. At seven o'clock she sits with her husband Charles and father, mother and son all take their morning dose of antiretroviral drugs. All three are HIV positive and...
"They came during the night. We were sleeping. They entered the house. Then they tied us up. They wanted to kill us in my mother's house. I tried to flee, but because I was bound I fell to the ground, on my stomach. One of the men pointed his gun at my heart. To kill me." Charles'* face is covered...
