4 billion baht budget to tackle HIV & STDs in Thai youths

[reader]

From The Thaiger

Thai teenagers are more at risk of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV infection than adults says the Thai government and that is why it has approved a budget of nearly four million baht to tackle the issue.

The Deputy Spokeswoman of the PM Office, Ratchada Thanadirek, revealed that people aged between 15 to 24 years old are more likely to get an HIV infection, and an STD, especially gonorrhoea.

Ratchada made known that Thailand had 520,000 HIV cases last year, the figure is expected to increase by 6,500 cases this year and that most of those people would be aged between 15 to 24 years old.

Ratchada explained that the government approved a budget of 3.9 billion baht for the National Health Security Office to take care of HIV and Aids patients.

Ratchada added that the Division of AIDS and STDs would launch an official account named “Stand by you” on the Line application to allow people to ask questions about HIV and Aids, ask for a free test, and request medicine.

Ratchada said the government planned to control the spread of HIV by 2030. They hoped the official Line account would make HIV tests and information about HIV and Aids more accessible, especially among teenagers. This would lead to more awareness among teenagers about the dangers of the diseases. The government would also like to emphasise the benefits of using condoms too.

[Londoner]

This should be a salutary reminder to all visitors who enjoy the sex scene to remember that hiv remains a real threat. And that, despite advances in medication and care, it remains a life-long condition with unpredictable implications, as Covid proved.

[spoon]

For HIV, prep is there. Thais can get then for free from their gov, though in not sure what the criteria. The few boys i asked that were on prep got them for free. I wish my government do this for high risk individuals but even right now, private insurance wont cover hiv treatment, let alone preventative treatment. We can still get prep here though, so thats a relief compared to certain country like brunei or indonesia. 

But yes, prep alone wont take care of other STDs. Condom is still the way to go. Regular testing is a way to detect, cure, and prevent spread as well.

Another part that is very lacking here and maybe in thailand also, is contact tracing. We have seen the disaster being amplify during covid but all communicable disease needs rigorous and effective contact tracing to contain the spread. STD stigma made it much harder to do this. Casual ONS without keeping contacts also the culprit. This might be one good reason to keep contacts of your debauchry. If u had something, it is our obligation to let our sexual partner knows about it so they can get checked asap. 

[PeterRS]

6 hours ago, spoon said:

For HIV, prep is there. Thais can get then for free from their gov, though in not sure what the criteria. The few boys i asked that were on prep got them for free.

The problem stems partly from the lack of sex education in the vast majority of schools. Blame this on one of the early Thaksin governments which cut the HIV-AIDS budget substantially. Before then, most young guys grew up aware of the dangers of unprotected sex. Now many young guys know of HIV-AIDS but have little clue how the virus is transmitted. I have read more than a few reports of the many saunas catering to young Thais on the outskirts of Bangkok where condoms are rarely used. And I am certain this is a result of ignorance. Although I have no statisics, i suspect most of the patrons are not on PrEP.

It's particularly sad when Thailand had an excellent record in controlling the spread of HIV in the 1990s and very early 2000s. But a United Nations study in 2014 found a new rise in HIV infections. 70% of the cases were in the 15-24 age group and of these 41% were amongst msm. Part of the Report on the Study says this -  

UNICEF says it believes that Thailand urgently needs more effective protection measures and appropriate testing and treatment programmes for young people in order to curb rising infection rates for HIV and STI. These programs, however, will need to be designed at the community level, with the involvement of young people themselves, so that they meet their specific needs.

“Among several recommendations from the study, we are calling for the age of consent for HIV testing and counselling to be reduced from the current age of 18 years,” Mr. Gass said. “If a young person feels that they have engaged in an activity that puts them at risk of HIV, they should be entitled to have a test without needing parental consent.”

The Medical Council of Thailand had actually been calling for children under 18 to have the right to be tested without parental consent since 2008. It is now in effect. But given that 8 years have passed since that United Nations Study, this country significantly undermined its earlier dedication to the reduction of HIV in its young people.