Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bangkok Post - Thursday, July 8, 2004
Apiradee Treerutkuarkul
Chaiyos Kunanusont, an adviser on HIV/Aids and sexually-transmitted infections for the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), said Thailand had been downgraded to the same level as Mongolia due to increasing concerns over HIV/Aids, particularly with regard to reproductive issues. Thailand should now take action in providing better population development and health services, Mr Chaiyos said. From a regional perspective, Malaysia is in a better position than Thailand, while Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam were ranked lower and required better planning, he said.
The indicators included the proportion of the population aged 15-24 living with HIV/Aids, the number of births with skilled attendants, contraceptive prevalence rates, adolescent fertility, infant mortality rates, the maternal mortality ratio, adult female literacy and the secondary education net enrolment ratio.
G. Giridha, UNFPA's representative to Thailand, however, was optimistic the government would take further steps to focus on reproductive health programmes, such as the development of maternal health and reduction of mother-to-child HIV infections to improve the population's health over the long-term.
Thailand's mother-to-child HIV infection rate stands at 3%, meaning that up to 3,000 children were spared from being infected by HIV through their mothers, according to the Public Health Ministry. Its target for 2005 is 2%. The issue will be raised during the International Aids Conference, which ends on July 16.
In 1994, 140 UN member states adopted a plan to improve eight areas by 2015, including: combatting HIV/Aids, malaria and other diseases; eradicating poverty and hunger; achieving universal primary education; promoting gender equality; reducing child mortality; improving maternal health; and ensuring environmental sustainability and global partnership development.
But Mr Giridha it had not been reached due to a shortfall of human and financial resources. UNFPA will urge nations on World Population Day (July 11) to focus their efforts on integrating population development and reproductive health policies to reach the goal, he said.
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