In the twilight hours of Saturday morning, on 30 November 2013, more than 460 men, women and children from various Myanmar based UN agencies, development partners, civil society and the sex worker community including marked this year’s World AIDS Day with a walk-a-thon around Kandawgyi Nature Park in central Yangon to raise awareness and reduce stigma and discrimination surrounding HIV/AIDS.

“Today is all about reducing the stigma attached to HIV/AIDS and adopting a zero discrimination attitude,” said Dr. Ni Ni Khaing, UNFPA’s National Programme Officer on HIV/AIDS in Myanmar and Focal Point for UNCARES. 

“Our motto is Getting to Zero, meaning we are aiming for zero new HIV infections, AIDS related deaths and zero discrimination,” she concluded. 

At 06:00, as the sun rose onto a clear blue sky and all the official speeches had be delivered, the participants wearing red, white and black t-shirts and red ribbons, assembled at the entrance point, directly under a large World AIDS Day banner, where they collectively released 100 red balloons into the sky. This was the official sign to indicate the start of the 5 km walk-a-thon around one of Yangon’s picturesque parks, also known as the Royal Lake. 

As the participants embarked on the trek around the lake, several water stations had been set up in strategic places to keep the momentum going as the morning sun started to heat up. For those that were unable to walk the full route, two trishaws and three taxis were provided, as well as mini bus with a medical team.

Around 09:00 everyone had completed the walk-a-thon and was having a well-deserved rest and chin wag at the finishing point, were also drinks and snacks were provided.

“We are making advances in reaching vulnerable populations through efforts to eliminate stigma and discrimination, but there is still much to do to end this problem. We must recommit to breaking the remaining barriers, including punitive laws and social exclusion, so we can reach all people who lack access to HIV treatment and services,” said United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon in his official message on World AIDS Day. 

On a global scale 35.3 million people are living with HIV. In Myanmar the number of persons living with HIV is estimated to be approximately 215,000. Out of the 215,000 infected 53,709 has access to antiretroviral therapy drugs (ART) or 43%. The target for 2013 is to increase the number to 60.618 or 48.5%. 

The World AIDS Day walk-a-thon event was organised jointly by UNAIDS, UNCARES, UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA and PSI.