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HIV

The Nation June 9, 2016 1:00 am

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THAILAND has received validation from the World Health Organisation (WHO) for being the first country in the Asia-Pacific region to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis, and also the first to ensure an Aids-free generation.

The public health minister was presented with the certificate of validation at a ceremony in New York on the eve of the United Nations General Assembly High Level Meeting on Ending Aids. Cuba is the only other country to have eliminated such HIV transmissions according to the WHO’s 2014 criteria.

“This is a remarkable achievement for a country where thousands of people live with HIV. Thailand’s unwavering commitment to core public health principles has made elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis a reality, a critical step for rolling back the HIV epidemic. Thailand has demonstrated to the world that HIV can be defeated,” Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director for WHO Southeast Asia, said while presenting the certificate of validation.

“By investing in strong maternal and child healthcare and national Aids prevention measures, Thailand has demonstrated that there are ways to protect children from the global Aids pandemic response,” said Unicef East Asia-Pacific regional director Karin Hulshof. “Thailand’s achievement inspires its neighbours to greater action. There are still 21,000 infants born with HIV each year in the Asia-Pacific region, and more than 200,000 children who are growing up with HIV.”

Women living with HIV have a 15-45 per cent chance of transmitting the virus to their children during pregnancy, delivery or breastfeeding, but that risk drops to just over 1 per cent if anti-retroviral medicines are given to both mothers and children.

The validation certificate was granted after an international expert mission convened by the WHO visited Thailand in April. The team – including experts from Australia, Cambodia, China, Philippines, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Thailand, United States and representatives from WHO, Unicef and UNAids – checked on the progress towards elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis.

One of the factors behind Thailand’s achievement was said to be the national health system that provides quality services in even the most remote areas and covers healthcare services for mothers living with HIV. According to Thai authorities, 98 per cent of pregnant women living with HIV have access to anti-retroviral therapy and the mother-to-child transmission rate has been less than 2 per cent. In 2000, an estimated 1,000 children became infected with HIV but that number shrunk to 85 in 2015. More than 95 per cent of pregnant women diagnosed with syphilis also received treatment.

Among thousands of women and children saved by Thailand’s commitment to eliminate the mother-to-child HIV transmission was Chanthaburi resident Anya Nopalit, whose thrill of being pregnant 16 years ago was devastated by news that she had HIV.

Her doctor encouraged her to have an abortion, but she was determined to keep her baby. “I thought what will be, will be,” Anya said. Luckily for her, in the very same year she learnt about her diagnosis, she followed the treatment regimen advised by her Tha Mai Hospital doctor.

“I was so happy when the doctor told me he [the son] was HIV-negative,” she recalled.

No longer frightened of pregnancies, Anya gave birth to her second son four years ago. “I am so happy that my two children are healthy and HIV-free. They are lively and play like normal kids,” she said with hope gleaming in her eyes. Thanks to the treatment and support from related agencies and communities, Anya and others living with HIV could can their children grow, like any other parent.

VDO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVIh3pnnOh4&feature=youtu.be

HIV-positive Mother to test daughter, 5, to calm local families, govt claims, but NGO disputes this

AN HIV-positive mother has sought a blood test for her daughter, who she says is free of the disease, to make people feel comfortable about her five-year-old studying at the same school with other children, the Education Ministry’s permanent secretary Kamjorn Tatiyakavee said yesterday.

Kamjorn denied reports that the school required the blood test as a part of its recruitment process.

“It’s the girl’s mother who has initiated the blood test,” Kamjorn said after emerging from a meeting with Office of Basic Education Commission [Obec] secretary general Karoon Sakulpradit.

But Kamjorn conceded that the mother may have acted because of pressure from her community. He said the woman was a speaker for the rights of people living with HIV and a community leader, so locals knew about her infection.

“They might have suspected that her child may have the virus.”

He said the mother asked the school to contact a hospital to arrange a blood test in a move that is expected to shore up local people’s confidence that her daughter would not pose a threat to the health of other children.

Kamjorn said the school wrote to the hospital citing its recruitment process as a reason because it could not think of any other excuse for denying the girl’s enrolment.

The permanent secretary insisted that there was no discrimination in school admissions.

“Children won’t be able to sit in class only if they come down with a communicable disease and are at a stage that can spread diseases such as tuberculosis,” he said.

Obec’s Karoon said the uproar about the five-year-old girl’s blood test stemmed simply from miscommunication.

But Supalak Sittichak, a coordinator of the Thai Network of People Living with HIV/Aids who is based in the Northeast, told a different story. She said she had received a complaint from the girl’s mother.

“It’s discrimination. The Nakhon Phanom-based school has demanded a blood test, saying that it’s for the peace of mind of teachers and parents,” she said.

She said her network usually received three to four complaints each year at the start of a new semester. But the number of discrimination victims is believed to be much higher, as other victims simply don’t come forward.

Supalak joined other Aids activists yesterday in lodging a complaint with the Public Health Ministry, which has a policy against stigmatisation.

“The Public Health Ministry should contact the Education Ministry so that they can together create the right understanding about Aids/HIV among members of the public,” she said.

Permanent secretary of the Public Health Ministry Sopon Mekthon met with activists yesterday. He disclosed that his ministry was planning to curb stigmatisation, not just in schools but also at workplaces.