Aids epidemic in Thai society : a study of public and government responses

Abstract

The objective of this thesis is to describe the general picture and influence of the AIDS epidemic on the Thai society by focusing on government and public response toward AIDS. Since the first AIDS case was reported in Thailand in 1984, HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, explosively spread among Thai people through the sharing of needles used for intravenous drug injection, and through the wide acceptance of commercial sex services. At first, the Thai government, except for the Department of Communicable Disease Control and some other relevant agencies, tended to keep silent about AIDS for fear of its impact on the country’s economy. After a case of a man infected with HIV through a blood transfusion during an operation was publicized, the Thai public became afraid of becoming infected with HIV. After the rapid spread of HIV was found among drug users in 1988, the Minister of Public Health suddenly began to talk about AIDS. However, a local tourism association strongly resisted this attitude. A negative and fearful image of AIDS was conveyed in information about AIDS at that time in order to create an urgent awareness of AIDS among the public. At the same time, the government aimed to enact the AIDS Bill in order to strictly control the so-called high risk groups by law, in which detention was included if necessary. Reflecting this government attitude toward the AIDS issue, the public was afraid of AIDS and discriminated against and ostracized people with HIV/AIDS. Under the new government, all ministries and some NGOs received funds from the national budget for AIDS to reach a wide-range of people. AIDS campaigns were actively conducted nationwide by the government, and information about AISD that emphasized compassion to people with HIV/AIDS was largely distributed through the mass media. Though people with HIV/AIDS were still discriminated against, activities of NGOs working for AIDS were diversified to meet various needs, and some private companies began to deal with AIDS.