HIV in Thailand

HIV in Thailand

Thailand is one of the most visited countries globally because of its beauty and attractiveness. The incredible things in the country, such as cheap hotels, beautiful islands, and archaeological sites, have attracted numerous tourists to the country. Although the country has beautiful scenery, it is most affected by HIV, which has made people in the country take the disease as a curse. Due to widespread HIV cases in the country, it took that intervention of protecting its people from the epidemic's effect. This made Thailand a global leader in HIV prevention and treatment in the recent past (Anand et al., 2017). It holds valuable experiences about HIV/AIDS, thus having significant lessons for the public. Even though the country took the initiative of prevention and treatment measures, it has one of the highest HIV prevalence in Asia as it accounts for about 9 percent of the region's people living with HIV. For that reason, this paper aims to discuss the historical origin of HIV, people's attitudes towards the disease, and interventions that the country's government can adopt to mitigate the continued spread of the disease and stigma.

History of HIV in Thailand

In 1984 Thailand recorded its first case of HIV. After the first case was reported in the country, they have been an increasing spread of the epidemic over the last three decades, affecting the highest population of Thailand by the early 1990s. By 1994 the country had recorded 5990 reported cases, with 3959 being detected in 1993. For instance, since the first case of the epidemic was reported, Thailand has continued to record an increase in the number of HIV cases. Three years after HIV was reported in the country, there was an increased infection among homosexual and transgender groups. At the start of 1988, Thailand experienced the explosive spread of HIV in sequential waves that affected every individual group in the country. The increasing spread of the epidemic in Thailand affected the economy of the tourist industry leading the government to adopt a strategy to combat the diseases in the country (Ruxrungtham & Phanuphak, 2001). Over the years, the government of Thailand has been strategically working with other agencies invested in preventive measures to help reduce the spread of HIV. Thus, it is true that the significant measures initiated by the government and other agencies in 1991 helped mitigate the spread of the epidemic in the country. For instance, Thailand adopted a three-year strategic plan focused on scaling up HIV prevention efforts. It enabled the government to strive to ensure that it achieves its goal of mitigating the significant spread of the disease across the country by providing universal access to treatment.

Public attitudes towards HIV

The first case of HIV in Thailand occurred primarily among the gay men in the country. This made the public have a negative view of homosexual groups in the country. It caused people infected with HIV to be highly stigmatized by the general public. For instance, based on the stigma index survey carried out in the country about the people living with HIV, 34 percent of people living with the people feel highly stigmatized by the general public (Sakboonyarat et al., 2021). The public's negative attitude against HIV individuals has made the country record low rates of voluntary testing and late entry into healthcare, thus leading to the highest spread of the disease. For instance, the high stigma associated with HIV lead to barriers in prevention and coordinating response to the disease. The general public view HIV as a curse in the community contributes to stigmatizing people affected by the disease to look for medication. However, the evidence indicates that policy interventions and environmental concerns by the Thailand government have helped address stigma and protect the health of people living with HIV/AIDS in the country.  

Intervention Strategies to Curb victimization and spread of disease

With the highest spread of the disease in the country, the government and other agencies to develop intervention strategies to mitigate the victimization and spread of HIV. For instance, the use of hospital-based intervention is a good strategy to curb victimization because it focuses on helping the health facilities establish an environment that provides appropriate and human care for people living with HIV. Also, the provision of care needs is a vital intervention strategy of curbing victimization of people with HIV as it will make them feel cared for in the community (Liamputtong, Haritavorn & Kiatying-Angsulee, 2009). The use of an educational approach on sex and HIV was another important HIV intervention strategy to curb the spread of the disease. With education, people can know the effect and cause of HIV infection. It is clear that the strategical intervention of HIV has helped the country reduce the number of cases related to the disease (Logie et al., 2016). Notably, the government provision of e-health in their treatment program can act as an intervention strategy to minimize the victimization of the affected group and enhance treatment.

Impact of stigma and its intervention strategy

Stigmatization of people living with HIV affects their mental wellbeing. At its extreme, stigma can lead someone to physical and emotional violence. People living with HIV always feel nervous about telling people their status because of fear of discrimination and stigma (Siraprapasiri et al., 2016). For that case, it is important to increase individual-level counseling as that helps to mitigate stigma and discrimination among people living with HIV. 

Conclusion

Although Thailand has strategically tried to minimize the spread of HIV in the country, it is clear the affected people in the country with HIV still experience stigmatization. Also, prevention services in the country helped decrease the spread of the HIV epidemic they are still rising cases of HIV among youths. Therefore, it has been indicated that Thailand by 2030 will be the first country to end HIV but to achieve that, it needs to involve young people and affected groups in their intervention measures.

References

Anand, T., Nitpolprasert, C., Kerr, S. J., Muessig, K. E., Promthong, S., Chomchey, N., ... & Phanuphak, N. (2017). A qualitative study of Thai HIV-positive young men who have sex with men and transgender women demonstrates the need for eHealth interventions to optimize the HIV care continuum. AIDS care, 29(7), 870-875.

Liamputtong, P., Haritavorn, N., & Kiatying-Angsulee, N. (2009). HIV and AIDS, stigma and AIDS support groups: Perspectives from women living with HIV and AIDS in central Thailand. Social Science & Medicine, 69(6), 862-868.

Logie, C. H., Newman, P. A., Weaver, J., Roungkraphon, S., & Tepjan, S. (2016). HIV-related stigma and HIV prevention uptake among young men who have sex with men and transgender women in Thailand. AIDS patient care and STDs, 30(2), 92-100.

Ruxrungtham, K., & Phanuphak, P. (2001). Update on HIV/AIDS in Thailand. Journal of the Medical Association of Thailand= Chotmaihet Thangphaet, 84, S1-17.

Sakboonyarat, B., Mungthin, M., Nelson, K. E., & Rangsin, R. (2021). Rising prevalence of HIV infection and associated risk factors among young Thai Men in 2018. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 1-10.

Siraprapasiri, T., Ongwangdee, S., Benjarattanaporn, P., Peerapatanapokin, W., & Sharma, M. (2016). The impact of Thailand's public health response to the HIV epidemic 1984–2015: understanding the ingredients of success. Journal of virus eradication, 2, 7-14.