The HIV/AIDS epidemic in Thailand : addressing the impact on children

Abstract

In less than a decade, the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Thailand has grown from a handful of infections to a major public health threat. The direct effects on children are already obvious: by the end of 1994, 16,000 HIV-infected children had been born, and tens of thousands of child prostitutes and street children were at risk of infection. By the turn of the century, more than one million Thai children will have at least one HIV-infected parent. This issue of Asia Pacific population & policy summarizes a recent report prepared by the Program on AIDS of the Thai Red Cross and the East-West Center's Program on Population. The report takes a critical look at the current situation, estimates the magniture of future problems, and recommends policy responses.