THAILAND: 'Don't Ignor Seniors'

   By Bhanubet Mahareankwan

CHIANG MAI, Thailand - ‘Access for All' was the slogan of the 15th International Conference on HIV/AIDS held in Thailand in July 2004.  Among those that made the commitment was the Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who had announced that every person living with HIV/AIDS would soon have equal access to ARV. More than a year later, the promise remains unfulfilled -- if not forgotten. 

   According to Linchong Pothiban, the director of HIV/AIDS and Older Persons in Northern Thailand Project, AIDS-affected elderly and those with HIV are emerging as a serious issue that needs to be addressed immediately.

   "Both state and NGO attention today is on children and the youth but not the elderly," says Linchong Pothiban. "If we ignore them, we will also be ignoring the role they can play in caring for children with HIV/AIDS," she adds.

   Thailand has a growing population of 30 to 34 year-olds with HIV/AIDS. Anti-retroviral drugs can help them live longer and the prevention and care information they have can help them cope with the disease in old age.
 
   Most of the women in the villages of Mae On district had been infected by their husbands who worked in the cities. According to Chanpen Chetthong, a public health administrator in Mae On district health office, AIDS was the leading cause of death in the villages until 2002-2004.

   "The people were very scared about reporting AIDS, and the behaviour towards people living with HIV/AIDS was disgusting," says Chetthong. "The attitudes have now changed because almost every house in the settlements has someone with HIV/AIDS".

   Her worry now is the emerging problem of the elderly with HIV/AIDS. "People think they are risk-free because they can no longer have sex, which is not true," she says. "By helping them understand and cope with HIV/AIDS, we will also be helping children in their care."
(END/HIVAIDS/AMF/IPSAP/BM/BB/JS/1205)