Undp-Led Hiv/aids Education Programme For Thai Police

[Lite Beer]

HUMAN RIGHTS

UNDP-led HIV/AIDS education programme for Thai police

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- As many as 10,000 junior Thai police officers per year will soon receive education on HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination due to a new partnership signed today, by the Royal Thai Police, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Foundation for AIDS Rights and the Department of Rights Protection of Ministry of Justice.

"The Royal Thai Police are committed to helping Thailand reduce and eliminate HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination. This training will help our officers become a resource and a helping hand for people living with HIV/AIDS and key affected people," said Police Lieutenant General Chanin Preechaharn, of the Royal Thai Police.

Stigma and discrimination remain a concern in Thailand and present barriers to access to HIV/AIDS prevention and treatments among key at-risk populations. The government has identified men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgendered persons (TG) as critical target populations to reversing a trend of new HIV infections.

In Thailand, MSM and TG are 20 times more likely to be living with HIV. Of those living with HIV in Thailand, over 16 percent come from the MSM community. For Thailand's capital, Bangkok, it is as high as 31 percent.

The stigma and discrimination curriculum will be used to educate junior police officers who has passed examination and who will be appointed as non-commissioned police officers throughout the country. The training contains more than 22 hours of lessons, spread out over the course of five days.

A training of 40 trainers began right after the signing ceremony, with a pilot exercise to be held soon to further refine the new curriculum.

"The officers being trained here today will eventually train as many as 10,000 junior police students per year on basic HIV prevention, the principle of AIDS rights, to better understand what it means to live with stigma and discrimination when you’re living with HIV, and how this stigma can be addressed by police officers on the ground," said Luc Stevens, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Thailand.

Thailand's national AIDS strategy, 'Getting to Zero' is in line with the UNAIDS vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. The partnership is a product of the long-time development of a joint UN programme on stigma and discrimination under the Joint Team on AIDS in Thailand led by UNDP and UNAIDS.

HIV/AIDS is the third-leading cause of death in the world. More than 500,000 people are living with HIV in Thailand—including 14,000 children. Every year, 10,000 people are infected and over the next five years some 43,000 more are expected, many from at-risk populations such as MSM and TG.

Joining the Royal Thai Police in signing the partnership today were Luc Stevens, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative; Supatra Nacapiew, Director of the Foundation for AIDS Rights; and Director-General Pitthaya Jinawat, Department of Rights and Liberty Protection, Ministry of Justice.

-- The Nation 2012-09-17

[Pimay1]

"In Thailand, MSM and TG are 20 times more likely to be living with HIV. Of those living with HIV in Thailand, over 16 percent come from the MSM community. For Thailand's capital, Bangkok, it is as high as 31 percent".

The real issue is that the UNDP does not have the courage to stand and tell the truth about why HIV is so high in these high risk groups. Same old story. Must be politically correct. Heaven forbid telling the truth and facing the cause head on i.e. looking for love in all the wrong places.

[Dr Robert]

"In Thailand, MSM and TG are 20 times more likely to be living with HIV. Of those living with HIV in Thailand, over 16 percent come from the MSM community. For Thailand's capital, Bangkok, it is as high as 31 percent".

The real issue is that the UNDP does not have the courage to stand and tell the truth about why HIV is so high in these high risk groups. Same old story. Must be politically correct. Heaven forbid telling the truth and facing the cause head on i.e. looking for love in all the wrong places.

May I respectfully suggest that you join the program being offered to the Police at the centre of the story. It may go some way to opening you to the misery and stigma attached to people living with HIV/AIDS and to help you dispel the values-laden, arrant nonsense you have published here.

Shame on you.

[asiawatcher]

Certainly a step in the right direction - well done Thai Police.

[geriatrickid]

"In Thailand, MSM and TG are 20 times more likely to be living with HIV. Of those living with HIV in Thailand, over 16 percent come from the MSM community. For Thailand's capital, Bangkok, it is as high as 31 percent".

The real issue is that the UNDP does not have the courage to stand and tell the truth about why HIV is so high in these high risk groups. Same old story. Must be politically correct. Heaven forbid telling the truth and facing the cause head on i.e. looking for love in all the wrong places.

Interesting.

I agree that it is politically incorrect to point out that the lack of access to testing, the reduction of education and the near dropping of the sex workers testing program have all been a factor in the spike in HIV. Those 14,000 children with HIV are not the product of men having sex with men. Hate to break it to you, but babies are made when a man makes boom boom with a woman.

Do you know one of the factors in the higher male diagnosis? Women are less likely to be tested and diagnosed than men in Thailand. That is because women's health is at the bottom of the bucket list. There is also a very pronounced stigma that atatches to women, so they remain under the radar. Yes, males are more likely to be infected, but a large portion of those males are also engaged in IV drug use. The data shows an overlap. That's one of the characteristics of Thailand's drug problem, especially in the north.

I don't deny that there is a higher incidence of HIV in males. However, if one wants to really be politically incorrect, remove the male sex workers of Pattaya, Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket, and the number drops significantly. Take out the female sex workers and there is a dip in the female incidence as well. The politically incorrect statement would then be why anyone risks having sexual relations with a sex trade worker.

And btw, IMO, there is a bit of PC in the percentages given with an over emphasis on the MSM segment. It is still taboo to acknowledge that HIV is heavily weighted to heterosexuals. It is much easier to assign the disease to a marginalized demographic. I hate to break this to you but if you really want to play with the numbers, the heterosexual incidence is still much higher in Thailand than in a country such as Australia, or Germany. One could remove all the MSM demographic, and there would still be a significant health issue in Thailand.

[warfie]

Good move! Well done to The Royal Thai Police!

Question to The Nation: Why that picture with this story?

[Thai at Heart]

Msm and Tg.

Is this now the latest politically correct language?

[JoeLing]

....... Hate to break it to you, but babies are made when a man makes boom boom with a woman. ....

Are you sure about that??

[jchfriis]

Great initiative. The more information, the less infection.