Guest fountainhall Posted February 15, 2011 Posted February 15, 2011 Yet more statistics have been issued about the growth in young teen pregnancies in Thailand, a rise in sexually transmitted diseases, and the concern that this will eventually result in a growth in the number of HIV cases. The first report is from today’s The Nation. Thailand has the second highest rate of mid-late teenage pregnancy in the entire world, according to Office of Welfare Promotion, Protection and Empowerment of Vulnerable Groups deputy chief Samatchai Chomvinya. South Africa had the highest rate, according to a report from the Social Development and Human Security Ministry. About 70 Thai women out of every 1,000 aged 15-19 - or about 7% - already have children, Mr Samatchai said. World Health Organisation figures show the global average number of pregnancies for every 1,000 girls in the 15-19 age group is 65. In Asia it is 56, but it rises to 70 in Thailand. "Parents don't have time to take care of their children because they are busy working, while different media lack appropriate filters, encouraging teenagers to have sex too soon," he said. http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/221522/thailand-has-second-highest-teen-pregnancy I find the comment about parents not having time to care for their children quite scandalous, but probably not surprising. It always seems odd to me that so many Thais dote on their children when they are pre-teens and then seem to abandon them to their schools and their peers thereafter. The second is a report I saw in today’s Bangkok Post, but cannot find it on-line, so I am quoting the same story from the Straits Times in Singapore. In the past five years, the number of patients with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) has nearly doubled, with 23,622 cases being recorded in 2009 alone - a number that does not include those who sought over the counter medication or treatment at private hospitals, the Public Health Ministry revealed on Monday. Most of the patients, aged between 15 and 24, got the disease from unprotected sex and one-night stands . . . A study in 2009 showed that many youngsters lost their virginity at the age of 13, and only 51 per cent used condoms during their first sexual encounter. The rising number of STD cases has also prompted concerns about more people getting HIV/Aids. As of Dec 31, Thailand had 372,202 people living with HIV/Aids http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_635120.html That last paragraph is particularly worrying, but it is nothing new. There have been comments in several chat rooms about the cavalier way young Thai guys go about sex, with unprotected sex seemingly the norm in Bangkok’s Thai-for-Thai saunas. It also seems mostly young guys are to be found there. If so, coupled with the cutback in HV-AIDS education programmes over the last decade, they are obvious breeding grounds for the further spread of HIV. And the latest report I can find shows that 24.7% of all msm in Thailand are HIV positive. Sobering statistics! Men who have sex with men are currently a major risk group in Thailand. In Bangkok . . . HIV prevalence among MSM rose from 17% to 28% between 2003 and 2005 and has since dropped to 24.7% in 2009.54 HIV prevalence is highest in the large tourist cities like Bangkok, Phuket and Chiang Mai but even in remote provinces, MSM have a far higher rate of HIV infection compared to the general population. http://www.avert.org/thailand-aids-hiv.htm Quote
