The number of confirmed HIV/AIDS cases in Thailand recorded over the past two decades exceeds 1 million, of whom an estimated 430,000 have already died, officials revealed on Monday. Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan said the country's known cases of HIV/AIDS since the deadly virus was first detected in 1984 until the present was more than 1 million, of whom 570,000 were still alive. Thailand, somewhat notorious for its booming sex trade and easy access to drugs, was one of the first countries in Southeast Asia to be hard hit by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Successive Thai governments have won praise from the international health community for acknowledging the spread of the virus in the populous and coping with it via education campaigns and free condom programmes at brothels. While the campaigns have succeeded in deterring some Thai males from frequenting brothels, they have not necessarily been good for local sexual mores, especially among the young, Sudarat noted. Some 70,000 of the current HIV/AIDS cases are young people aged between 15 to 24, of whom 60 per cent are women, said the minister. "The main factor in the spread of HIV/AIDS among youths is sexual relations before marriage without protection," Sudarat told reporters. She said that sexual behaviour, particularly among young Thai girls, had changed in recent years, noting that some 9 per cent of the girls aged between 15 to 19 now admitted to having had sexual relations. "The boys just do it because they want to experiment, but the girls are doing it for love," said Sudarat. The Health Ministry is planning several programmes and activities to mark World AIDS Day on December 1 aimed at improving awareness among youths.
