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Published Date: December 21, 2009

The Catholic Church in Myitkyina, northern Myanmar, is battling a sharp rise in HIV/AIDS infections due to an epidemic of intravenous drug-use among the young.

There are around 300,000 drug users in the country, according to the United Nations, but some NGOs believe there could be as many as 500,000, UCA News reports.

At least 35 percent are HIV positive and in some areas the rate is as high as 80 percent, the government says.

The Church is coping with the fall-out by both giving practical assistance to patients and fighting prejudice against them.

The Karuna Social Services of Myanmar (KMSS) runs programs around the country as well as training to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS and the discrimination affected people face.

The Church runs the home-based “Hope” center on the outskirts of Myitkyina, capital of Kachin State.

It provides medical treatment, three meals a day, warm clothes in winter as well as jobs training. The center runs a livelihood program teaching how to rear pigs, cows and buffaloes.

One of the patients being helped in Myitkyina, Naw (not his real name) said injecting heroin had left him homeless.

Baptist pastors tried to help him but he ran away from them three times. He finally stopped drugs but then discovered he was HIV-positive.

“After I was infected with HIV, I found I couldn’t eat much for two months,” he said. “I was severely ill.” Naw was taken to the Catholic Hope center by NGOs working in the area. Now he is one of its staunchest advocates.

“I witness to others at World AIDS Day events and other gatherings about my life,” he told UCA News. “I’m ready to help other HIV patients at the Hope center when my health condition improves.”

He said he recommends reading the Bible as the most effective means of kicking the drug habit.

Seng Nu, in charge of the HIV/AIDS prevention program of Myitkyina Karuna, the diocesan social service agency, said it is important to allow patients to share their experiences so that other youths will be aware of the pitfalls of drug use and other risky behavior.

SOURCE

Church faces fallout from drug-use epidemic (UCA News)

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