Report: Cutbacks and overconfidence harming Thai battle against AIDS

Sunday, May 21, 2000 | 10:51 a.m.

An upturn in the prevalence of the virus which causes the disease among pregnant women is an indicator of the problem, causing one AIDS expert to warn that a "second wave of AIDS problems is now emerging," said a report in the newspaper The Nation.

Last year, the proportion of pregnant women infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, climbed to 1.78 percent from 1.53 percent in 1998, said the report. The rate had been steadily declining, from 2.29 percent in 1995 to 1.82 percent in 1996 and 1.68 percent in 1997.

Dr. Chaiyos Kunanusont, the former director of the health ministry's AIDS division who provided the statistics, said the upturn seemed to stem from complacency in the wake of Thailand's previous success in fighting the disease.

"Authorities seem to be satisfied with this success. 'We are doing well,' they think," he said. "'So why bother saying AIDS is still a problem?"'

He noted that Thailand's HIV infection rate are still high in some sectors: 30-40 percent among intravenous drug users and 20-30 percent among sex workers.

AIDS activists quoted by The Nation said the end of a government program to distribute free condoms had them concerned that the effort to halt the spread of the disease had weakened.

The program wound down after the economic crisis of 1997 forced budget cuts, they said.