By KYI WAI | RANGOON — Ko Naing Oo, 36-years-old, waits patiently with a group of people in Waibagi Hospital in Rangoon, in hopes of receiving free antiretroviral drugs (ARV) to treat his HIV/AIDS condition.
“I have waited for one year and two months, and I don’t know how much longer I will have to wait,” he said.
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An NGO staff member who works with HIV patients said some of his clients die while waiting to be admitted to receive free medication from various hospitals and clinics, mainly international or local NGOs.
“From our organization, we have 26 applicants at Waibagi Hospital,” he said. “Among those, two have been approved for drugs from Waibagi, seven receive drugs from Thazin Clinic, two have found drug donors to pay for ARV drugs and four people killed themselves.”
A typical case was a woman named Ma Myo, 28, who had applied for ARV drugs at Waibagi, but because of a shortage of drugs and thousands of people on the waiting list, she died after waiting in vain for 10 months.
Her mother said, “She lived in Taunggyi Township in Shan State and moved to Rangoon, settling in a rented room at Kyaukyetwin. She counted the days while waiting for the drugs."
According to a military government report in 2006, there are about 300,000 HIV patients in Burma. Tragically, the availability of ARV drugs, either from the government or from private organizations, is only a fraction of what would be required to treat all HIV/AIDs patients.
On a recent Wednesday, a crowd of about 50 people, most gaunt and pale, waited in front of the Waibagi dispensary in the early morning hours. Some were children around 10 years old. Most were female. Many had their applications ready to give to nurses in blue uniforms. Others were waiting to receive their ARV drugs.
People shared quite conversations, peppering their talk with questions such as, “How long did you wait to receive the drugs? Did you know so-and-so just died?”
Off to the side, sat four consultants, people who themselves were living with HIV. In the dispensary room, they waited to advise people on how to take their medicine and to answer other questions.
"Every hopeful patient asks me how long it will be before they can get the ARV drug, and it’s hard for me to answer," said a nurse, pointing to a stack of applications on the table. "Patients who eventually receive the ARV drug represent about 10 percent of the applicants and most wait up to a year or more.”
People living with HIV usually move to Rangoon to receive free drugs. They must first contact an organization that serves HIV patients, usually an international or local NGO.
The organizations counsel patients in how to apply for drugs, how to get antibiotics and vitamins and in emergency cases, how to look for ARV medicine donors to provide funds for emergency treatment.
Two of the most active INGOs supplying medicine for HIV patients are the Dutch organization, Artsen Zonder Grenze, which operates the Thazin Clinic in Rangoon, and Marie Stopes International Myanmar of the UK.
AZG provides ARV drugs to more than 10,000 patients nationwide.
"Unfortunately, we can’t afford to accept new patients due to the current backlog,” said an AZG doctor.
"If one of our patients receiving ARV drugs dies, then take on a new patient. We have a hard time getting money to treat more patients," the doctor said.
MSI has 24 clinics in Burma, offering services to HIV patients as well as family planning and other medical services.
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