Situation Analysis - Burma (Myanmar)

Illicit drug use
The World Drug Report 2009 reports that opiates (91.7%), amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) and cannabis are the most commonly used drugs in Burma (Myanmar), among people treated for drug problems. Prevalence of injecting drug use in Burma (Myanmar) ranges between 0.18-0.25% of the adult population, an estimated 75,000 injecting drug users (Mathers et al 2008).

Burma (Myanmar) remains the second largest producer of opium, after Afghanistan. In 2008, the total area under opium poppy cultivation was estimated at 28,500 hectares, heavily concentrated in the eastern Shan State. Despite small increases observed in the past two years (+3% between 2007 and 2008), opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar remains far below the levels reached in the 1990s (World Drug Report 2009).

HIV prevalence
In 2008, UNAIDS estimated that there were 240 000 people living with HIV in Burma (Myanmar). HIV adult prevalence in Myanmar is estimated to be declining, from a peak of 0.9% at the beginning of the decade to 0.7% in 2007 (UNAIDS 2008). However, HIV prevalence among IDUs is among the highest in the world, at 42.3% (Mathers et al. 2008).