HIV and AIDS in Thailand Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

HIV and AIDS in Thailand - Research Paper Example However, the malady remains restricted majorly among the risk groups, that is, commercial sex workers, men who have sex with fellow men, and the intravenous drug users. Recently, data collected from Africa proved that AIDS is a bidirectional disease whose major mode of transmission is through sex. This paper gives an analysis of AIDS pandemic in Thailand. Causes of HIV and AIDS HIV and AIDS incidences have been increasing marginally in the Thailand nation. This terrible increase is attributed to the drivers of AIDS spread (Clark 4). Marginalized groups like the sex workers, men who have sex with men and the injecting drug users are the high-risk groups in Thailand. Sex workers, just like the other marginalized groups, have played a big role in the spread of HIV and AIDS. Though the issue of sex workers as drivers of AIDS spread has raised many debates, the fact remains that paid sex is the excellent driving mode of AIDS pandemic. The factor that has led the rampant spread of AIDS amo ng the sex workers is their common misuse of drugs and the sharing of the needles (McNeil A6). This overlaps two major factors making the disease a common phenomenon among them. Most teenagers in Thailand have ignored the prevention campaigns carried by the country’s government and, instead, are engaging in unsafe sexual behaviors. More than eighty-five per cent of the youth do not consider the damage of HIV, even though more than seventy per cent of STI cases are within the youthful age brackets. Premarital sex among the youth has become a common phenomenon in the country. Only twenty percent of the youth who engage in sex activity use condom during the act (Feimuth, Noar and Edgar 293). Sex workers are criminalized population, so they play the game in secret, thus, it is very hard to track or monitor them. Another driver group of HIV prevalence is the drug users. In the first few years of Thailand’s epidemic, HIV was common among the users of heroine, opium and cocai ne who injected the drugs into their bodies with syringes and shared them with friends. The government has not made a great deal of success in reducing HIV infections among the drug users (Finkel 258). In spite of their efforts to crackdown drug trafficking in the country, the activity has roots underground, making the prevention campaign difficult, if not impossible, for this group. The prime minister of the country held a conference against drug abuse where he addressed the drug issue. Another major risk group in cause of AIDS in Thailand is represented by men who have sex with fellow men. In Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, the prevalence if AIDS among the gays rose by twenty-eight per cent, in a span of two years, that is, between 2003 and 2005. Currently, AIDS prevalence among the gays in Thailand is the highest in major towns (Eur 19). Comparably, men who have sex with fellow men have the highest prevalence to contract AIDS to the general population. The country has formed ga y associations which educate the victims and rehabilitate them, if need be. Users as patients are not criminals, as suggested (Poundstone et al 23).The organizations have established local community centers for men who have sex with fellow men across the country where they can meet and socialize. Thailand has a high number of migrant workers (bridging population) who have provided the greater share of work force in the country. The major challenge faced by this group of people is the language barrier and fear of arrest and