Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2007. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Associated Press - November 29, 2007
Injecting drug users were the first group in Thailand to be affected by HIV, and the infection rate among them has been 40 percent to 60 percent for two decades, said the report by Human Rights Watch and the Thai AIDS Treatment Action Group.
It said the Thai government has failed to provide safe treatment for drug users infected with HIV, and has not effectively promoted harm reduction techniques ù such as the provision of free, clean syringes to drug users ù to stop the spread of the virus. The sharing of needles is a major way that infections spread.
The report was issued two days before World AIDS Day, an annual event focusing attention on the epidemic.
Thailand has been hailed as a success story in combating HIV, as it has implemented large-scale safe sex programs and provided anti-retroviral drug therapy to more than 80 percent of those who need it.
But the country has also drawn criticism for its often aggressive approach to the illegal drug trade, particularly a war on drugs which led to the deaths of thousands of alleged dealers in 2003-2004.
"The limited (treatment) programs that are available continue to be undermined by the government's aggressive anti-drug policies," Rebecca Schleifer, a researcher for Human Rights Watch, said at a news conference, explaining that the Thai government treats drug users as criminals, rather than patients.
The report said HIV-infected drug users are denied care throughout Thailand. It states that HIV care programs sometimes presume that drug users are incapable of responsibly taking the relatively expensive anti-retroviral medicine they need, and refuse to refer them for treatment.
When drug users go for treatment for HIV, the police will sometimes search, harass and detain them, said Kriengkrai Aiemprasert, who has been treated for methamphetamine addiction since 1995 and serves as a counselor for drug addicts who are HIV-positive like him.
Some HIV clinics see drug users as undesirable patients, and call in the police themselves, he said.
"They not only violate our rights, they leave us at risk with no advice, counseling or treatment," he said.
Barely 1 percent of injecting drug users received harm reduction services, which include providing users with clean syringes to avoid needle-sharing, according to a July 2006 study by the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Under Thai law, the possession and sale of clean syringes is legal, but police have in some cases considered their possession as a basis for drug charges, the report said.
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