Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bangkok Post - Wednesday, July 7, 2004
Saritdet Marukatat
The minister said the campaign, which will kick off shortly after the end of the international meeting, would run from Sunday to July 16 and focus on the youth and employers.
Teenagers' ignorance on condom use has become a prime concern for health authorities who fear that they would become a new risk group. According to Public Health Ministry surveys, about one-third were not using condoms during sexual encounters largely due to their confidence in their partners.
"They worry about getting pregnant more than Aids," said Mrs Sudarat.
The campaign was primarily aimed at youths between the ages of 14 and 25. Local pop idols and singers would be asked to join the campaign and convince them to use condoms and alert them to the dangers of HIV/Aids.
The old strategy using health and provincial officials to fight the disease was outdated and would not work with teenagers, she added.
Thailand was successful in bringing down the number of new Aids infection cases from 140,000 in 1991 to 21,000 last year, according to the UNAids. The target for the Public Health Minstry next year is 17,000 new cases.
Thailand's success story will be discussed during the International Aids Conference that will be attended by at least 15,000 activists, researchers and officials. Despite the success, the minister admitted that the campaign needed a new push to keep the disease from spreading too quickly.
Director-General of the Disease Control Department Charal Trinvuthipong said more condom vending machines will be installed across the country, especially near secondary schools.
The ministry has already installed 7,000 machines, 5,000 of them in Bangkok alone. The idea was to offer cheap condoms. At 5 baht apiece, they are 10 times cheaper than condoms sold by chemists and in convenient stores.
Another campaign will concentrate on better job opportunities for Aids patients by encouraging factories to employ more Aids-infected workers and raise awareness that the Aids virus could not be transmitted that easily.
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