Alarming increase in HIV among young people in Thailand
Nearly half of new HIV cases in Thailand are in young people between the ages of 15 and 24, according to the Department of Disease Control. This number amounts to almost 4500 of the more than 9000 new cases annually. Dr. Suchada Jiamsiri, head of the Department of AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases at the Ministry of Health, notes that this trend has been happening for years, with the highest rates previously among sex workers and men who have sex with men.
Dr. Suchada points out less attention to HIV among young people and the neglect of condom use. She indicates that young people are more concerned about preventing unwanted pregnancies and therefore often opt for birth control pills, which has contributed to a decline in the number of teenage mothers. However, condoms, which are considered less pleasurable, often go unused.
The Ministry works closely with social organizations to increase awareness about safe sex and condom use. Survey results show that 77,8% of female and 59,1% of male high school students use condoms, with similar figures among vocational students.
Despite reduced state budgets and foreign funding for HIV/AIDS control, the National Health Security Office (NHSO) remains committed to prevention. The NHSO provides more than 10 million free condoms, medicines and related tests every year.
There are currently 561.578 people living with HIV in Thailand. By 2030, the government aims to reduce the number of new infections to fewer than 1.000 per year from the current 9.230, and the number of deaths from HIV/AIDS to fewer than 4.000 per year from 10.970.
Thailand is on track to meet the United Nations' 95-95-95 Global AIDS Strategy, focused on diagnosis, treatment and viral suppression. By the end of 2022, an estimated 90% of people living with HIV/AIDS were aware of their status, 90% of those diagnosed were receiving treatment, and 97% of them had a suppressed viral infection.
Source: Bangkok Post
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Number of new HIV infections in Thailand
2000 40.000
2010 16.000
2015 9.500
2019 6.500
2022 9.000
Number of HIV deaths
2000 60.000
2015 25.000
2019 15.000
So things are going quite well as far as HIV is concerned in Thailand. That used to be very different. It is estimated that there are as many as 500.000 HIV-infected people.