Myanmar Hosts Southeast Asia Meeting on HIV/AIDS

The Ninth Meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (ASEAN) Task Force on AIDS began on Wednesday in Yangon, Myanmar, Xinhua News Agency reports. Ten ASEAN countries and U.N. representatives are attending the three-day conference in which they will discuss AIDS information exchange among member states and devise a plan on HIV/AIDS to be adopted as a follow-up to the First ASEAN Regional Program on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control (1995-2000). UNAIDS has identified Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia as the priority countries in Southeast Asia where "urgent action" is needed to prevent the spread of AIDS. According to the World Health Organization, as of December 2000, there were 3,817 AIDS cases reported and an estimated 510,000 HIV infections in Myanmar, or 760 cases per 100,000 people. The nation formed a multi-sectoral National AIDS Committee in 1989, which developed a master strategic plan to expand response programs to all areas and population groups in the country (Xinhua News Agency, 9/27).