Finalist
Christian Holst
Reportage by Getty Images
"Half a Century Without Freedom - Life under the Military Regime of Burma"
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While Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Price Laureate, is undeniably a source of great hope to the Burmese people it is uncertain how much real power and how much opportunity for change the harsh military junta of Burma will let her have.
A few days after her release Aung San Suu Kyi paid a controversial visit to a shelter for HIV/AIDS patients run by her party. Controversial since for years the junta has first denied and since neglected a potentially devastating HIV epidemic.
Burma has one of the world’s worst health systems. While the junta is amongst the biggest military spenders worldwide, the generals spend less than $1 per citizen per year on health care. The country is on the verge of a potentially devastating health crisis due to the government’s inattention to HIV and AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. A conservative estimate says that app. 70-76.000 is on in need of urgent access to treatment. At the most between one quarter and one fifth of patients have access to treatment and almost all help is being given by a small handful of international NGOs and the NLD.
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