Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2001. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bangkok Post - February 12, 2001
Director-general of the Communicable Disease Control Department Dr Somsong Rakpao said Aids was the most important national public health problem.
There were an additional 26,000 HIV-infected people and an extra 30,000 fatalities from related illness annually.
"With the current contribution of 1.5 billion baht yearly, we can solve the problem at a snail's pace," he said.
Dr Somsong estimated the National Aids Committee needs up to five billion baht a year to tackle the current level of Aids in Thailand.
The money should fund both the costly treatment of Aids patients and campaigns to prevent infection among the group of high risk people.
"Those people are from 15 to 25 years old who are the nation's major labour force. They are working and supporting other groups of people," he said.
He hoped the government would agree with the budget request, or the high rate of infection and mortality would thwart the country's development.
Sub-committees under the national Aids panel are helping to justify the budget request. There are 42 agencies from 10 different ministries involved.
Dr Somsong has also asked the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation to produce patent-free Aids medicines and negotiate with private manufacturers for cheap supplies of the drugs.
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