At the end of June 2020, MSF handed over the last of its Yangon HIV project to Myanmar’s Ministry of Health and Sports (MoHS). The Thaketa clinic opened in 2002 and was an integral part of MSF’s larger Yangon HIV project that also included Insein clinic, which closed in June 2019. The clinic handover marks the final step of a multiyear process (begun in 2016) tranferring patients to the MOHS’ National Aids Programme. It represents a milestone both for MSF and for Myanmar, underlining the country’s growing capacity to provide ARV treatment for people living with HIV.
MSF was the first ARV provider in Myanmar and at one point treated the majority of all diagnosed patients in the country. MSF’s Insein and Thaketa clinics together treated over 17,000 patients, many of whom travelled from elsewhere in the country to access care. It also treated patients co-infected with other opportunistic infections, such as tuberculosis and or Hepatitis C, with counselling integrated into patient care. The closure represents a key moment in MSF’s history in the country, and reflects the growing capacity of the MoHS to provide HIV care.
“The Yangon project didn’t only start the country’s ARV treatment but was followed up by piloting on site treatment for co-infections. Our free of charge MDR-TB treatment was piloted in 2009 and Hepatitis C treatment followed in 2016. This represents a unique and innovative model of care and MSF continues to advocate for these approaches to be taken up by other HIV care providers,” says Pavlo Kolovos, Head of Mission of MSF Myanmar.