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MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is marking World AIDS Day with the launch of a new HIV project in Myanmar, where transmission risks and infection rates are a growing concern.

“Growing cross-border movement of people and goods has increased health risks, including HIV and malaria in Myanmar,” said Stephen Groff, ADB’s Vice-President (Operations 2). “This project will support cost effective and high impact measures to prevent the spread of HIV.”

The Myanmar project will support the scaling up of the local response to improve access to HIV prevention services for key affected populations including migrant workers, and will strengthen monitoring systems for tracking HIV risks across borders.

The project will focus on the two major economic corridors linking Myanmar to Thailand and the People’s Republic of China.

The Myanmar project will be supported by a $1 million technical assistance grant from the Cooperation Fund for Fighting HIV/AIDS in Asia and the Pacific―financed by the Government of Sweden and administered by ADB.

HIV/AIDS remains a serious health threat across much of Asia and the Pacific. In 2011, five million people were living with HIV/AIDS in the region.