The cream of the cultural hierarchy of Bangkok gathered earlier this month for a Bangkok Opera event titled Opera Aid and held in the plush surrounds of the Rembrandt Hotel Ballroom on Sukhumvit Soi 18. The evening functioned as the launch of the three-year HIV Awareness Project, which aims to help and raise money to p
Nicholas Snow, actor-journalist-activist and founder of ActionEqualsLife.com, will happily discuss any aspect about himself with anyone willing to listen, especially the normally taboo fact that he is HIV-positive. Instead of hiding his condition, Snow embraces it, taking the HIV-awareness cause to a whole new level in
A new treatment programme for HIV-positive mothers will be introduced to the universal healthcare scheme to reduce mother-to-child transmission. The treatment is based on a recent study which found a combined anti-retroviral drug treatment is more effective in reducing the numbers of HIV-positive mothers developing Aid
In preparation for Bangkok s 2nd World Opera Week , a fund-raiser dinner-concert-celebrity event will be held tomorrow at the Rembrandt Hotel on Sukhumvit Soi 20. Honorary chair will be Privy Councillor MR Thep Devakula. The event will also be attended by Bruce Gaston and Somtow Sucharitkul. The Bangkok Opera s HIV Awa
More than 350,000 Thais have become HIV-positive over the past 25 years, says the Ministry of Health. The total number of infections is 354,000, and 94,800 patients have died from the sexually transmitted disease from 1984 to August this year, said Suphan Srithamma, the Public Health Ministry spokesman. Most of those i
The day before this story was written an inmate who had Aids died at the Medical Correctional Institution. Solemn mourning for the inmate proceeded as 30 terminally ill patients were being provided with their medication. The institute says four to five patient inmates die each month. Most have Aids, but there are also
The Medical Correctional Institution has been providing anti-retroviral drugs to inmates with HIV/Aids since 2004, thanks to a budget from the National Health Security Office and the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The MCI, widely known as the Prison Hospital, is regarded overseas as a model of bes
A breakthrough in the world s largest and long-running HIV vaccine trial has given new hope in the battle against HIV/Aids. The results of the trial carried out in Thailand released yesterday show the vaccine has 31.2% efficacy in preventing HIV/Aids infections. Although its effectiveness did not reach the 50% efficacy
The major advantage of condoms over other birth control methods is they can prevent sexually-transmitted disease, especially HIV/Aids. But they are only effective when used correctly and consistently. Most men think using a condom is easy: just put it on, have sex and throw it away. But, in fact, there are important de
What do 20,000 children living with HIV in Thailand want and need from their government and the rest of society? Seventeen children living with HIV performed in the drama For Tomorrow at the National Aids Conference in Bangkok. In the drama, the children covered many issues related to their HIV-positive status. The
BALI: HIV/Aids patients could lose out if governments divert resources to fight the flu pandemic or cut costs to cope with economic problems, an Aids conference has been told. The type-A (H1N1) flu pandemic and the global economic downturn could tempt governments to cut support networks, but this could lead to higher h
BALI : Media outlets covering HIV should be talking to victims and looking at efforts to find a cure rather than dwelling on sensationalism, a seminar here has been told. Prasada Rao, from the regional support team of the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/Aids, yesterday said 50 million women in Asia are at risk of
BALI :HIV rates among men having sex with men (MSM) in Thailand have declined this year, experts told an Aids congress in Bali, Indonesia . However, while the rate may be falling in Thailand it is rising in the Asia-Pacific region as a whole, experts told the International Congress on Aids in Asia and the Pacific forum
BALI: Southeast Asia s first court hearing for women who are victims of HIV, human trafficking and unjust migration practices has been held here before a six-member jury including a representative from Thailand . Caitlin Wiesen, the HIV/Aids programme coordinator (Asia-Pacific) for the United Nations Development Progra
We thank the Bangkok Post for its interest in the Phase 3 HIV vaccine trial, the results of which will be announced later this year. We feel compelled, however, to correct some of the inaccurate or misleading information that appeared in the July 22 article by Apiradee Treerutkuarkul. This HIV vaccine trial was evaluat
Chulalongkorn University s Dramatic Arts Department - along with support from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences Health Consumer Protection Project and Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC) - will be staging the Asian premiere of Cocktail, a play about the life and HIV drug development work of Dr Krisana Kraisintu.
Re: Aids activists cast doubt on vaccine trial (Bangkok Post, July 22). The article contains several factual errors, and it incorrectly quotes me. First, and most importantly, I did not say that the trial should never have taken place. In fact, I have personally been supportive of the trial for many years, as has the o
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA: International Aids experts are questioning the effectiveness of the world s largest clinical vaccine trial being conducted in Thailand . The results of the trial are expected to be announced in the next two months. We really don t know if the vaccine may or may not work. But it s going to be a
Krisana Kraisintu, who helps poor African nations fight Aids and malaria using a herbal drug, has been named as a recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay award for public service this year. The winner will be officially announced on Aug 3 and the ceremony will be held on Aug 31. Known as the inventor of the Aids drug GPO-VIR,
Suphan Buri-born Chainarong Noisakul is one of 20 patients in the terminal stages of Aids (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) at Wat Phrabat Namphu hospice. He has been a part of this community of HIV-infected people for five months. Shunned by family and friends, the 43-year-old is grateful to have a roof over his h
-- People normally choose to spend their leisure time in pursuit of pleasurable experiences, and that s all well and good, but sometimes it s best to take some time off to make a little merit Nestled around a lush mountainside in Lop Buri province, from the outside Wat Phrabat Namphu looks like a typical Buddhist templ
Unesco Bangkok recently launched the Healthy Sexuality Database, in partnership with the National Science Museum of Thailand and UNAids, to profile Thailand s history of sexual health and HIV prevention, which began 15 years ago. Nearly a thousand education and campaign resource materials, in both English and Thai, on
HIV-fighting doctor Wiwat Rojanapithayakorn was presented with the Chukiat Utakaphan Award. Metta Utakaphan, CEO and president of Amarin Printing and Publishing, presenting the award to Dr Wiwat Rojanapithayakorn. The recent announcement of the award by Amarin Printing has placed HIV awareness in the spotlight again. D
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is backing a campaign to prevent Aids infection among housewives after figures showed there was an alarming increase in cases in this formerly low-risk group. Mr Abhisit yesterday told the opening of the national Aids conference he thought his image as a family man and faithful husband
YASOTHON: Some schools are forcing children from the Yasothon-based Ban Home Hug, a child welfare organisation, to leave after learning they are infected with HIV. Children under the foundation s care face discrimination from directors and teachers at some schools and have been barred from studying at the establishment
YASOTHON: The mere fact that the kids at Ban Home Hug are growing up infected with HIV means they have to fight harder than others to make their dreams come true. They also have to live with a social stigma and discrimination that comes in many shapes and forms. State university admission requires students to undergo b
Ban Home Hug is not a deathbed. It is a home that offers love and happiness. It is a safe haven where love is the guiding light. said Suthasinee Noi-In, its founder, at the inauguration of the foundation set up to help abandoned children infected with HIV. In the northeastern dialect, Home means uniting or bringing to
At the Mitsamphan drug user harm reduction drop-in centre in Bangkok drug users are able to get clean needles, condoms and counselling. Access to these services allows them to stop HIV, look after their health and lead productive lives. The centre is run by community members, including ex-drug users, and has restored d
New HIV infections among low-paid workers is on the rise as overtime cuts due to the economic recession have left some unable to afford condoms, the Public Health Ministry has revealed. However, the overall HIV situation in Thailand has dramatically improved, according to Somsak Akkasilp, deputy director-general of the
Aids advocates are calling on the government to prepare health care support for about 10,000 HIV-positive people expected to lose their job and not be eligible for Social Security Office payments. HIV-positive people s access to drugs and other health services under the social security scheme would be terminated after
Teenagers will be able to undergo tests for HIV/Aids at general hospitals and clinics without their parents consent under a new regulation proposed by the Medical Council of Thailand . Pairote Boonsirikamchai, assistant secretary-general of the council, said teenagers under 18 now could receive a free HIV test and coun
More than 10,000 people will develop HIV/Aids this year, a report released yesterday says. Deputy Public Health Minister Manit Nopamornbode said about 11,700 people were expected to become new sufferers, most of them women who will get HIV from their lovers followed by gay men who have unprotected sex. As well, men who
Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) experts yesterday certified the quality of the generic heart drug Clopidogrel being imported from India , saying it was safe for use. Since the introduction of the compulsory licensing (CL) policy on certain drugs to help cut treatment costs in the country, many queries have been re
Unlike the majority of prisoners, Jeab (not her real name) feels deeply thankful to have been sentenced to four and a half years imprisonment at Min Buri prison. I would have been dead by now if I had not been penalised with imprisonment here, says Jeab, beaming. Jeab, now 44, identified herself as a heroin addict when
Developing countries should do more research and development of chemicals as an important step towards sustainable pharmaceuticals and public health, says this year s Prince Mahidol Award winner. Giving the honorary lecture prior to the annual award presentation, Sergio Henrique Ferreira, a professor of pharmacology at
Health activists are seeking a review of the new Government Pharmaceutical Organisation board, accusing the chairman of lacking the necessary experience. The activists are to meet Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaewparadai today to discuss the proposed review, even though the Administrative Court has already ruled in
Local non-profit organisations are worried about their sources of funding as the financial crisis bites. During the tom yum kung financial crisis in 1997, Rajani Dhongchai, who co-ran the non-profit Foundation for Children, was forced to make an especially difficult decision: some of the children under her care would h
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