Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2007. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bangkok Post - November 30, 2007
The ministry surveyed the sexual behaviour of youths last year and found fewer than half who admitted they had casual sex said they used condoms.
The average age of youths who had sex for the first time was 15, according to the survey, a drop from 18 in previous studies. About 36% of the males and 28% of the females in the surveyed group said they had sexual experience.
The findings have been released to coincide with World Aids Day today.
The World Health Organisation's (WHO) motto to raise awareness about Aids prevention this year is "Stop Aids. Keep the Promise".
The figures from the ministry highlight concerns about the continued spread of sexually transmitted diseases, as well as the increasing numbers of unwanted pregnancies and school dropouts.
The ministry said only 23% of male teens and 26% of female teens had been educated about Aids.
Dr Somchai Pinyopornpanit, deputy director-general of communicable disease control, said some teenagers had sex to win acceptance from their peers. Many were under the impression that HIV/Aids only infects commercial sex workers.
Dr Somchai was speaking after the opening of the ministry's anti-Aids campaign yesterday at Wachira Benjathat park in Bangkok.
He said many teenagers thought it was safe to have sex with friends or someone they knew personally, so they did not feel the need to use condoms.
Patchara Siriwongrangsan, director of the office for the prevention of Aids, tuberculosis and sexually transmitted diseases, said the ministry began a project to educate youths about prevention of the disease with youth leaders from 52 schools in 15 provinces last year.
The provinces under the programme include Bangkok, Trat, Kanchanaburi, Nakhon Sawan, Samut Prakan, Nonthaburi, Chiang Mai, Lampang, Surin and Udon Thani.
More than 28,000 teenagers have undergone training in Aids prevention under the project.
Dr Patchara said her office has also launched Aids prevention activities in 16 communities and set up Aids prevention clubs in 11 schools nationwide.
Dr Somchai said there were about 39.5 million Aids patients in the world last year.
About 2.9 million died.
This year the WHO estimates there will be about 4.2 million new infections.
In Thailand, the number of new Aids infections this year is expected to be well down, from 140,000 cases in 2004 to 14,000, he said.
Of the 14,000 new HIV carriers this year, the largest single group, or 45%, is female teenagers and married women. About 20% are homosexuals, he said.
Prior to this year the Public Health Ministry estimates about one million Thais had contracted the Aids virus. More than 558,000 of them had died, he said.
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