PM Prayut wants all Aids patients to have access to drugs

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HIV/AIDS
PM wants all Aids patients to have access to drugs

BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha on Monday expressed his intention for Aids patients at all levels to have access to appropriate drugs.

He was speaking during a meeting with Michel Sidibe, executive director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), at the Government House.

"Thailand gives full support to provide patients of all classes with access to anti-viral drugs. This includes the access of migrant workers in Thailand to a health security system so that they receive benefits relating to prevention and treatment with antiviral drugs," Gen Prayut said.

The Thai government will pay for 90 per cent of solutions to AIDS in the country, even if the Global Fund stops financial support for Thailand in two years. Thailand would continue to tackle AIDS with its own funds, the prime minister said.

Gen Prayut thanked UNAIDS for its support for Thailand, Thai News Agency said.

He said that Thailand’s intention to stop newly infected HIV patients, Aids-related discrimination and Aids-related death was in line with UNAIDS’ strategies and that Thailand’s government, private sector and civil society were joining together to cope with the Aids problems that have existed in the country for over three decades.

The UNAIDS head praised the prime minister for his profound knowledge of HIV/Aids and playing important roles in solutions to the disease.

He promised the UNAIDS was ready to give all possible support for Thailand to cope with HIV/Aids. He believes that the country will successfully solve Aids-related problems ahead of schedule.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/PM-wants-all-Aids-patients-to-have-access-to-drugs-30246328.html


-- The Nation 2014-10-27

[ChrisY1]

Pretty much an impossible task given that the stupid GPO can't keep up with general supply of many medicines.

[fobuff]

[curtklay]

How about some Medical Marijuana?

[ginjag]

What a stupid reaction to a perfectly humane comment from a leader.

Suppose this is wrong as well ??? pathetic, Give these kids access to all they do not deserve to die. why not.??

[kamahele]

From what I understand from my Thai friends, Thailand already gives meds free of charge to those with AIDS, however not to people with HIV who have not developed AIDS yet. Might be good to treat all and also use education to decrease the number of new infections.

[Lupatria]

They already have access to many drugs with billions of amphetamine pills, tons of ganja, cocaine and heroine on the streets.

[ginjag]

They already have access to many drugs with billions of amphetamine pills, tons of ganja, cocaine and heroine on the streets.

Topic. Giving help to aids sufferers.

[JOC]

They already have access to many drugs with billions of amphetamine pills, tons of ganja, cocaine and heroine on the streets.

A poster clearly very familar with those products, since he managed to stray off topic already in post #7!

[rickirs]

“… so that they receive benefits relating to prevention and treatment with antiviral drugs," Gen Prayut said.

It is almost a pleasure to see that Gen. Prayut is about as scientifically knowledgeable as USA politicians are with Ebola – they all fail. A vaccine teaches the body's immune system to recognize and defend against harmful viruses or bacteria before you get infected. There is no vaccine to prevent HIV. There is antiretroviral therapy which is good for health and reduces the likelihood of transmitting the virus to others if they adhere to their HIV medication.

[steveromagnino]

“… so that they receive benefits relating to prevention and treatment with antiviral drugs," Gen Prayut said.

It is almost a pleasure to see that Gen. Prayut is about as scientifically knowledgeable as USA politicians are with Ebola – they all fail. A vaccine teaches the body's immune system to recognize and defend against harmful viruses or bacteria before you get infected. There is no vaccine to prevent HIV. There is antiretroviral therapy which is good for health and reduces the likelihood of transmitting the virus to others if they adhere to their HIV medication.

It would seem the PM is the one speaking sense here. Everyone is well aware that HAART (HIV med treatment) is not a vaccine.

HAART is now being used among HIV negative high risk groups, to receive benefits relating to preventing being infected in the first place (referred to as pre-exposure prophylaxis) PrEP. It is also being used effectively to control the spread of HIV.

In terms of context, it would seem the PM is probably talking about 2 issues, and in both cases he is correct:

1. where a person is infected and therefore treatment would help the community at large to avoid infection by reducing the viral load (AKA VL this is what HAART does) and thus reduces the likelihood of infection to others. This is frequently referred to treatment as prevention and is widely discussed in the HIV arena e.g.

http://www.avert.org/hiv-treatment-as-prevention.htm

"“an HIV positive person who is taking effective antiretroviral therapy, who has an undetectable viral load and is free from STDs, has a negligible risk of infecting others with the virus. ” - See more at: http://www.avert.org/hiv-treatment-as-prevention.htm#sthash.xbYUXRRI.dpuf

This was a somewhat unexpected benefit of treatment; simply put, on treatment HIV+ patient VLs went down and their CD4s increased (the measure of their health), but at the same time the ease at which they could infect others also decreased.

2. In the case of pre-emptive treatment, for particularly the group that are MSM or needle users, the same principles as post exposure prophylasis apply, taking HAART PRE-exposure for high risk groups who are currently HIV- they can take meds to prevent the potential for infection by killing the virus before it has the opportunity to replicate if they are exposed to it:

http://aids.gov/hiv-aids-basics/prevention/reduce-your-risk/post-exposure-prophylaxis/

This type of thought process began for medical works for a needle stick or similar, which has now evolved into the current thinking that perhaps large groups can take the meds BEFORE infection as prevention (hence the term PRE-exposure):

http://www.aids.gov/hiv-aids-basics/prevention/reduce-your-risk/pre-exposure-prophylaxis/

I never take pleasure in politicians knowing nothing, because it is invariably accurate. However, in this case and knowing a little of the current administration, he does indeed know and speak correctly about this issue.

Edited October 28, 2014 by steveromagnino

[Travelman868]

From what I understand from my Thai friends, Thailand already gives meds free of charge to those with AIDS, however not to people with HIV who have not developed AIDS yet. Might be good to treat all and also use education to decrease the number of new infections.

That used to be true but I believe the situation change 2 years ago. The number changed from 200 to 300