Home delivery of ART in flood-affected Hpa-An 06.08.2018

A team from Pyi Gyi Khin used boats to reach the worst-affected areas.They brought with them HIV medication and basic medical supplies. Photo: Pyi Gyi Khin

Global Fund sub-recipient Pyi Gyi Khin is determined to help people living with HIV continue their treatment, but the ongoing flooding in Hpa-An is making it difficult for HIV patients to access medication. To make sure people living with HIV can continue their ART, staff and volunteers used boats, trucks, tricycles and got their feet wet to reach those stranded by the floods.   

Myanmar is in the midst of the rainy season, and flooding is affecting many low-lying areas of the country. Hpa-An township in Kayin State is not spared from overflowing rivers. Thousands of people have been displaced in recent days and the flooding has left many villages submerged in water.  

Pyi Gyi Khin staff and volunteers were not afraid to get their feet wet when they travelleled to flood-affected communities on 1 August. Photo: Pyi Gyi Khin

On 1 August,  Pyi Gyi Khin staff and volunteers filled waterproof boxes with HIV medicines and basic medical supplies before embarking on a wet journey. They travelled by boat, truck and tricycle to bring HIV medication to people that depend on antiretroviral therapy (ART) to treat the virus. Normally, these patients collect the drugs themselves, but the adverse weather conditions have left them stranded. The team from Pyi Gyi Khin also provided primary health care to people affected by the floods. The sub-recipient worked with the National HIV/Aids Programme and a rescue organisation to carry out the operation. 

Staff and volunteers travelled by any means available to reach people affected by the floods in Hpa-An. Photo: Pyi Gyi Khin

Pyi Gyi Khin is a long-standing Global Fund sub-recipient that works to implement both HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis projects in Myanmar. Some of the NGOs key HIV/AIDS activities are to provide ART to people living with HIV,  councelling to help patients take medications as prescribed and supporting people living with HIV and their families to carry out home based care.