By Suchada Tupchai
December 1 was World AIDS Day, a day in which the world
unites every year. This year the World Health Organization came up with the
slogan “Stop AIDS Keep the Promise”, which is different from previous
years in which preventative measures were stressed. This year stressed
cooperation and more importantly the understanding of sufferers.
The Ministry of Public Health issued a statement on the
increasing severity of AIDS. Dr Thawat Suntharajarn, director general of
the Department of Disease Control said that the total number of people
infected worldwide as of 2005 was 40.3 million, with 4.9 million new cases
or 13,000 new cases per day. This is the highest since 1981, when the first
cases started to be reported.
The latest figures include 2.6 million deaths. Children
under 15 years old totaled 640,000 with 510,000 deaths. Fifty percent of
the newly infected cases are aged between 15-24 years old and the numbers
are increasing in the age of global development.
No matter how much control is implemented, sex pleasure
stimulants are available everywhere like buying candy from a candy shop,
whether through magazines, videos, or the internet. The Public Health
Ministry said there are many reasons that teenagers engage in sex. Eleven
percent of teenagers who have sex just want to break records while seven
percent don’t protect themselves and are taking big risks. It is up to
the government to get rid of these problems and be stricter.
This year everyone is encouraged to fight AIDS. It is a
great responsibility to oneself, and to our loved ones. This year more
young people have become infected than in any previous year. Family support
would help to make sure that none of them become infected and that those
who are will receive correct physical and spiritual care. It is up to us
Thais to fight AIDS and force a drop in new infections. Stop AIDS Keep the
Promise.
