Good news: in Thailand, the AIDS back off! In this Asian country with around 68 million inhabitants, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) affects around 500,000 people: every year, AIDS kills 35,000 Thais. As a reminder, in 2015, 5,925 French people discovered their HIV status.
However, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the situation is improving on Thai territory. In fact, the mother-to-child HIV infection rate is now below 2%, peaking at only 1.9%. Concretely, this means that Thailand has just put an end to viral transmission of HIV from mother to child …
“A challenge remains: to make it a lasting success”
To achieve this major success in the fight against AIDS, Thailand did not hesitate to take radical measures: thus, in 2000, the local government set up free and systematic tests for all pregnant women, and guaranteed free care and treatment for all pregnant women with HIV.
Thanks to this victory, Thailand becomes the first country in Asia to eliminate the transmission of AIDS from mother to child: a “remarkable achievement” according to the WHO, which ” showed the world that HIV can be beaten ”. “One challenge remains: to make this a lasting success” commented Dr Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn, Minister of Public Health of Thailand.
Each year in Asia and the Pacific, 21,000 babies are born with HIV – currently 200,000 children grow up with AIDS. However, according to Thai government figures, the number of babies born with HIV fell from 1,000 in 2000 to just 85 in 2015.
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