Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bangkok Post - July 14, 2003
Aphaluck Bhatiasevi Onnucha Hutasing
Parents and carers shared their experiences at a national Aids meeting recently.
Elderly people are less at risk of contracting the disease than other groups, but still face physical, mental and financial problems because they are left to take care of ill children or grandchildren orphaned by the disease, said the Foundation on Development Works of the Elderly, an NGO.
Elderly carers had been neglected since the anti-Aids campaign began 19 years ago, said Sawang Kaewkantha of the foundation.
A study presented at the meeting said up to 67% of people with HIV/Aids returned to live with their parents when they were no longer able to work. There they eventually died, leaving the burden of caring for their children with their parents.
In Chiang Mai's San Patong district alone, 200 families have HIV/Aids.
Elderly people are forced into the role of bread-winners but few have regular earnings, said the study conducted by Usa Khiaorod of Chiang Mai University's Centre for Assistance of the Elderly.
Elderly people also have problems getting access to information on safe sex. Many people believed mistakenly that the elderly did not have sex, Mr Sawang said.
Much needed to be done to make them realise the dangers of unprotected sex. Children orphaned by Aids were discriminated against by neighbours and schoolmates, and some forced out of schools.
Prapai Jaiharn, who spoke for Aids patients, has Aids herself and is mother to HIV-infected children.
She wanted the Education Ministry to ensure equality for children with HIV, to ensure they are not deprived of a normal life.
Other parents said children who caught HIV from their parents lacked social acceptance and some were forced to quit school.
HIV children in many areas chose not to apply for scholarships because they were too embarrassed to report to authorities and reveal they had HIV.
The Disease Control Department believes 300,000 Thai children are Aids orphans, compared to 63,000 children in 1995.
Senator Mechai Viravaidya said the public should file complaints with the Senate Speaker if they knew of cases where children with HIV/Aids suffered discrimination.
He also urged local bodies and communities to help take care of children with HIV.
Praphan Phanuphak, director of the Thai Red Cross Society's Aids Research Centre, said social awareness was still a problem in controlling the spread of the disease. "Our society still perceives people with Aids as a group with undesirable behaviour," he said.
Dr Praphan said political leaders, including Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan and Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, were not paying enough attention.
The government's plan to expand distribution of anti-retroviral drugs to 50,000 Aids patients was fine as far as it went, but many people with the disease still had problems getting access to the drugs, he said.
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