Asia/ Thailand sets the standard in the fight against HIV
By, Akiko Okazaki, The Asahi Shimbun, April 12, 2007
PROMANEE, Thailand--A record 914 people became infected with HIV last year in Japan, the only developed country where the number of people infected with the virus annually is increasing.
Across the globe, 4 million people become infected with HIV every year. But while the figure in Japan continues to increase, one of its Asian neighbors is drastically reducing the number of new patients.
Thailand, which saw a huge spread of HIV infections in the 1990s, has become a role model for countries seeking to decrease the numbers of HIV-infected people within their borders. The success stems from the joint efforts made by the government and the private sector.
Patin, a 40-year-old woman living in the village of Promanee, about 150 kilometers west of Bangkok, took an AIDS test five years ago after she lost her husband to the disease.
The test came back positive. She was infected with HIV but not full-blown AIDS. Her 7-year-old daughter, Kel, was also infected.
Patin suffered from skin diseases and high fevers. As her physical strength decreased, it became almost impossible for her to work.
But about a year ago, it became possible for her to undergo anti-retro viral (ARV) drug therapy free of charge. About six months ago, Kel also started taking the drugs.
"Thanks to the drugs, my daughter and I have become healthy again," Patin said.
In Thailand, the annual number of people infected with HIV reached about 140,000 at its peak in 1991. Now, the number has decreased to less than 20,000.
The reduction has been, to a large extent, due to the initiatives taken by the Thai government.
Starting in 2001, it became possible for HIV-infected people to undergo a lot of the medical treatment available at public hospitals for only 30 baht (about 100 yen). After the military coup in 2006, the treatment became free.
The ARV drug therapy was included under the program in 2005. Before that, only 5 percent of the estimated 100,000 people who needed ARV drug therapy were able to undergo it. At present, about 80 percent can receive it.
The spread of the ARV drug therapy was mainly due to the activities of AIDS patients' organizations.
In 2001, a nongovernmental organization TNP+, which brought together about 900 groups in Thailand, sued a U.S. pharmaceutical company that had monopolized the patents of ARV drugs.
In 2004, the NGO finally won the suit, making it possible for other pharmaceutical companies to manufacture and sell generic drugs at low prices.
"Thanks to the generic drugs, the monthly drug fee decreased from 10,000 baht to 1,250 baht per person. The decrease made it possible for all those infected with HIV to receive medical treatment," said Nimit Tien-udom, director of the AIDS Access Foundation, one of the groups involved in the lawsuit.
An official of the Thai Ministry of Public Health said the NGOs and the government had been working closely together.
"The goal of the government and that of patients organizations are the same. We are always exchanging information about what we can do."
More than 2 million migrant workers from foreign countries are said to be working in Thailand. Many of them work in the Sangkhla Buri district of Kanchanaburi province, bordering Myanmar (Burma).
A 19-year-old woman from Yangon (Rangoon) came to Thailand two years ago. She has been working as a prostitute to help repay her family's debts. On an average day, she earns 200 baht (about 640 yen). Most of her customers are Thai.
"I learned about HIV from NGO members. I always ask my customers to wear condoms," she says.
Most of the migrant workers are poor and have little knowledge of AIDS. According to the health ministry, legal migrant workers who are paying health insurance premiums can also receive ARV therapy free of charge.
But illegal immigrants, who account for about one-third of all the migrant workers, must pay high medical treatment fees. They often refuse to go to hospitals, making them more susceptible to HIV and more likely to spread it.
In order to prevent this, eight NGOs and the health ministry have joined forces with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM), a Switzerland-based organization funded by contributions from governments and private foundations throughout the world.
So far, they have distributed 1.7 million condoms for free. They have also published booklets in seven languages, including Burmese and Khmer for Cambodians.
They also set up 20 centers in Thailand to distribute the condoms and the booklets and to offer counseling.
In the Sangkhla Buri district, the GFATM is funding a hospital that provides free ARV drug therapy for illegal migrant workers.
In Japan, the infection of migrant workers is also a serious problem.
According to the AIDS Surveillance Committee of the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, about 12,000 people were infected with HIV or were suffering from AIDS by 2006. Of them, 25 percent were foreigners.
A nonprofit organization, the Services for the Health in Asian and African Regions (SHARE), offers medical counseling for HIV-infected foreigners and also helps them return to their home countries.
The Japanese government has done little for them.
In April 2005, the government's aid organization, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the Thai government's Ministry of Public Health did, however, jointly establish the HIV/AIDS Regional Coordination Center.
The center, located in Bangkok within the ASEAN Institute for Health Development (AIHD) of Mahidol University, nurtures experts for three years until 2008 to develop ways to prevent HIV/AIDS.
Experts from Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam have been invited to take part.
JICA has sent three Japanese experts to the center. One of them, Yasushi Sawazaki, 45, cited Thailand's good healthcare network and the government's many capable officials as the reasons why the country has succeeded in curbing the spread of HIV and AIDS.
"Each local community also has a system in which people support each other under the leadership of NGOs or temples. There are many things Japan should learn from Thailand," he said.
Siripon Kanshana, inspector general of the Thai health ministry, points out that measures taken by Japan to deal with HIV and AIDS issues will have a big influence to Southeast Asia.
"A lot of Japanese culture, including manga, has spread to Thailand. If a Japanese comic book teaches about safe sex, it will serve as an important prevention measure for young Thai people. Measures against HIV/AIDS are not someone else's problems," she said.(IHT/Asahi: April 12,2007)
Source: http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200704120071.html
PROMANEE, Thailand--A record 914 people became infected with HIV last year in Japan, the only developed country where the number of people infected with the virus annually is increasing.
Across the globe, 4 million people become infected with HIV every year. But while the figure in Japan continues to increase, one of its Asian neighbors is drastically reducing the number of new patients.
Thailand, which saw a huge spread of HIV infections in the 1990s, has become a role model for countries seeking to decrease the numbers of HIV-infected people within their borders. The success stems from the joint efforts made by the government and the private sector.
Patin, a 40-year-old woman living in the village of Promanee, about 150 kilometers west of Bangkok, took an AIDS test five years ago after she lost her husband to the disease.
The test came back positive. She was infected with HIV but not full-blown AIDS. Her 7-year-old daughter, Kel, was also infected.
Patin suffered from skin diseases and high fevers. As her physical strength decreased, it became almost impossible for her to work.
But about a year ago, it became possible for her to undergo anti-retro viral (ARV) drug therapy free of charge. About six months ago, Kel also started taking the drugs.
"Thanks to the drugs, my daughter and I have become healthy again," Patin said.
In Thailand, the annual number of people infected with HIV reached about 140,000 at its peak in 1991. Now, the number has decreased to less than 20,000.
The reduction has been, to a large extent, due to the initiatives taken by the Thai government.
Starting in 2001, it became possible for HIV-infected people to undergo a lot of the medical treatment available at public hospitals for only 30 baht (about 100 yen). After the military coup in 2006, the treatment became free.
The ARV drug therapy was included under the program in 2005. Before that, only 5 percent of the estimated 100,000 people who needed ARV drug therapy were able to undergo it. At present, about 80 percent can receive it.
The spread of the ARV drug therapy was mainly due to the activities of AIDS patients' organizations.
In 2001, a nongovernmental organization TNP+, which brought together about 900 groups in Thailand, sued a U.S. pharmaceutical company that had monopolized the patents of ARV drugs.
In 2004, the NGO finally won the suit, making it possible for other pharmaceutical companies to manufacture and sell generic drugs at low prices.
"Thanks to the generic drugs, the monthly drug fee decreased from 10,000 baht to 1,250 baht per person. The decrease made it possible for all those infected with HIV to receive medical treatment," said Nimit Tien-udom, director of the AIDS Access Foundation, one of the groups involved in the lawsuit.
An official of the Thai Ministry of Public Health said the NGOs and the government had been working closely together.
"The goal of the government and that of patients organizations are the same. We are always exchanging information about what we can do."
More than 2 million migrant workers from foreign countries are said to be working in Thailand. Many of them work in the Sangkhla Buri district of Kanchanaburi province, bordering Myanmar (Burma).
A 19-year-old woman from Yangon (Rangoon) came to Thailand two years ago. She has been working as a prostitute to help repay her family's debts. On an average day, she earns 200 baht (about 640 yen). Most of her customers are Thai.
"I learned about HIV from NGO members. I always ask my customers to wear condoms," she says.
Most of the migrant workers are poor and have little knowledge of AIDS. According to the health ministry, legal migrant workers who are paying health insurance premiums can also receive ARV therapy free of charge.
But illegal immigrants, who account for about one-third of all the migrant workers, must pay high medical treatment fees. They often refuse to go to hospitals, making them more susceptible to HIV and more likely to spread it.
In order to prevent this, eight NGOs and the health ministry have joined forces with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM), a Switzerland-based organization funded by contributions from governments and private foundations throughout the world.
So far, they have distributed 1.7 million condoms for free. They have also published booklets in seven languages, including Burmese and Khmer for Cambodians.
They also set up 20 centers in Thailand to distribute the condoms and the booklets and to offer counseling.
In the Sangkhla Buri district, the GFATM is funding a hospital that provides free ARV drug therapy for illegal migrant workers.
In Japan, the infection of migrant workers is also a serious problem.
According to the AIDS Surveillance Committee of the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, about 12,000 people were infected with HIV or were suffering from AIDS by 2006. Of them, 25 percent were foreigners.
A nonprofit organization, the Services for the Health in Asian and African Regions (SHARE), offers medical counseling for HIV-infected foreigners and also helps them return to their home countries.
The Japanese government has done little for them.
In April 2005, the government's aid organization, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the Thai government's Ministry of Public Health did, however, jointly establish the HIV/AIDS Regional Coordination Center.
The center, located in Bangkok within the ASEAN Institute for Health Development (AIHD) of Mahidol University, nurtures experts for three years until 2008 to develop ways to prevent HIV/AIDS.
Experts from Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam have been invited to take part.
JICA has sent three Japanese experts to the center. One of them, Yasushi Sawazaki, 45, cited Thailand's good healthcare network and the government's many capable officials as the reasons why the country has succeeded in curbing the spread of HIV and AIDS.
"Each local community also has a system in which people support each other under the leadership of NGOs or temples. There are many things Japan should learn from Thailand," he said.
Siripon Kanshana, inspector general of the Thai health ministry, points out that measures taken by Japan to deal with HIV and AIDS issues will have a big influence to Southeast Asia.
"A lot of Japanese culture, including manga, has spread to Thailand. If a Japanese comic book teaches about safe sex, it will serve as an important prevention measure for young Thai people. Measures against HIV/AIDS are not someone else's problems," she said.(IHT/Asahi: April 12,2007)
Source: http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200704120071.html
posted by AIDS-Care-Watch at 2:37 pm
1 Comments:
Any initiative to fight AIDS or to slow down the plague is welcome !
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