China - Burma (Myanmar) Cross Border Project

In 2010, the second Cross Border Project was awarded to Health Unlimited UK to scale up their harm reduction activities along the China-Burma (Myanmar) border

Background
The population along the Yunnan (China)-Burma (Myanmar) border area is extremely vulnerable to HIV infection due to the drug routes that run through the areas and the high-risk behaviour, including a thriving sex industry. This makes the estimated 10 million people who annually cross the border extremely vulnerable to the epidemic. There are very few health care or education projects available for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) or vulnerable groups living in border areas, which are home to some of both countries’ poorest ethnic minorities.

Currently, there are few services available in Burma (Myanmar) either for people at highest risk of HIV infection or for people living with or affected by HIV. Local Burmese authorities lack capacity to implement an effective HIV response in most of the border areas. Yunnan province, on the other hand, has provided substantial resources to scale up evidence-based HIV prevention and care interventions with a focus on people at highest risk. In terms of harm reduction, the government at provincial, prefecture and county level are implementing various harm reduction activities, including methadone maintenance therapy, needle syringe programmes, condom promotion, drop-in centres, outreach services etc.

In April 2006, Health Unlimited started the two-year, Christian Aid-funded ‘cross-border harm reduction’ project in Laiza, Kachin state. The Health Unlimited team has discussed the possibility of scaling up the harm reduction project on both sides of the border with the local authorities in the proposed areas. Both authorities have agreed to work with the project team on harm reduction in these areas.

Working both sides of the border
The project’s overall aim is to contribute to a reduction of HIV prevalence on the Burma (Myanmar)-China border by scaling-up harm reduction services in four border towns: Nasan in China and Laokai in Myanmar; Houqiao in China and Kanpaidti in Myanmar; Diantan in China and Banwa in Myanmar; and, Pianma in China and Phinmaw in Myanmar.

The project will create a supportive environment for harm reduction on the both sides of the border. It will coordinate with the relevant departments to participate in the control and prevention of HIV and lobby and advocate with policymakers, military officers and law enforcement both in Shan and Kachin States of Myanmar and bordering counties in Yunnan Province in China.

The project will also mobilise local communities and improve their capacity to prevent HIV through reducing harms associated with injecting drug use. It will build the capability of key authorities and their staff in terms of HIV prevention. Families of drug users will be educated on harm reduction and activities to reduce the social discrimination and stigma towards drug users will be implemented. The project is based on lessons learnt from the cross-border HIV control and prevention pilot in the Kachin/Yunnan border implemented by Health Unlimited since 2006.