US embassy cable - 05RANGOON167

UNCLAS RANGOON 000167 
 
SIPDIS 
 
BANGKOK FOR MATTHEW FRIEDMAN/USAID AND BANGKOK ESTH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO, SOCI, PGOV, EAID, KHIV, BM 
SUBJECT: EMINENT HIV/AIDS RESEARCHER EXPECTS AIDS TO "TAKE 
OFF" IN BURMA 
 
 
1.  Summary: On February 1, COM and emboffs met with Dr. 
Robert C. Gallo, co-discoverer of the HIV virus, and 
representatives of WHO, UNOCAL Myanmar Offshore Co. Ltd., and 
Total E&P Myanmar to discuss HIV/AIDS in Burma.  Dr. Gallo, 
guest of TOTAL, was on a three-day visit to Rangoon, meeting 
with the GOB, holding presentations for local HIV/AIDS 
organizations and the NGO community, and advising the two oil 
companies on ways to foster HIV awareness in the private 
sector.  Dr. Gallo fears that AIDS in Burma is on track to 
rival prevalence rates of some of Africa's worst-case 
countries.  He recommends increased drug therapy and more 
effective surveillance.  End Summary. 
 
2.  Dr. Robert C. Gallo, a co-discover of the HIV virus, and 
one of the first to publish findings on the connection 
between the HIV virus and AIDS, is the founder and director 
of the Institute of Human Virology (IHV) in Maryland.  Dr. 
Gallo pioneered the development of the HIV blood test, 
discovered natural compounds that block the HIV virus, 
contributed to the development of life-prolonging HIV 
therapies, and worked on the development of an HIV vaccine. 
Dr. Gallo, Dr. Agostino Borra (WHO Representative), and 
officers of TOTAL and UNOCAL oil companies made a courtesy 
call on the COM to discuss HIV/AIDS in Burma and what private 
sector organizations such as TOTAL and UNOCAL are doing to 
foster HIV awareness and to improve conditions for 
HIV-positive workers. 
 
3.  Dr. Gallo observed that the two greatest needs for 
fighting HIV/AIDS in Burma are improved availability of anti 
retroviral treatment (ART) and a better HIV/AIDS surveillance 
system for more quickly identifying new cases.  In a 
subsequent evening lecture attended by poloff, Dr. Gallo 
noted that "AIDS is well-established in Burma and is ready to 
take off."  He fears that it won't be long before Burma has 
the highest prevalence rate in Asia and becomes decimated by 
AIDS, like some African countries. 
 
4.  WHO, TOTAL, and UNOCAL are working toward building 
private sector support for HIV/AIDS programming and 
prevention, and ending employment termination of HIV-positive 
workers.  TOTAL and UNOCAL have stopped this discriminating 
practice, but Dr. Gallo informed that an international 
business leader in Rangoon apologetically confessed that his 
company still fires workers if they contract HIV/AIDS, as 
providing ART is not cost effective.  This practice, common 
among companies in Rangoon, as well as within the military, 
adds to the stigma of HIV/AIDS and discourages workers from 
being tested, furthering the spread of the virus. 
 
5.  Another issue Gallo and Borra addressed was the growing 
problem of drug-resistant strains of HIV, caused by patient 
non-compliance to the drug regiment, weak or ineffective ART 
drugs, or insufficient dosages.  Uncontrolled ART 
administered by the private sector is considered a serious 
problem and is contributing to growing drug resistance. The 
misuse of ART causes a drug-resistant strain of HIV to 
develop, which may then be passed to others and is largely 
untreatable.  This problem has serious health implications, 
regionally and globally. 
 
6.  Dr. Gallo reported that his several meetings with the 
Minister and Deputy Minister of Health went better than 
expected, as the minister was surprisingly open, even 
requesting Dr. Gallo to "ask him the hard questions."  The 
minister also requested that Dr. Gallo "carry a message" 
about U.S. sanctions on Burma that "the power structure of 
Burma would not change due to these measures, but that the 
poor people of Burma were suffering because of them."  The 
COM responded that the U.S. would consider removing the 
sanctions if the GOB made some positive steps toward change, 
and that mismanagement of the economy by the GOB had a great 
deal more to do with poverty in Burma than any U.S. measures. 
 
 
7.  Although the GOB seems to be taking a more open stance on 
HIV/AIDS issues, they remain guarded about other sensitive 
health topics.  Dr. Gallo opined that they dislike hearing 
certain statistics or discussing problems such as child 
mortality and malnutrition.  Statements like "thirty percent 
of the children in Burma are malnourished" make them 
extremely uneasy, Gallo said. 
 
8.  Comment:  Dr. Gallo's visit to Burma was well-received by 
the GOB, the international community, and NGOs.  His visit 
may help to further encourage the GOB to be more supportive 
of HIV/AIDS issues and to involve other government ministries 
in a more broad-based approach to fighting the rapidly 
growing AIDS epidemic in Burma.  End Comment. 
Martinez