The Population and Community Development Association (PDA) is a non-governmental organization in Thailand. Its goal is to reduce poverty through both development initiatives and family planning programs. Originally called the Community-Based Family Planning Service, it was founded by Mechai Viravaidya in 1974.[1] In the early 1970s, Viravaidya was the Minister of Industry but became frustrated with the government's inability to implement a national family planning policy.[1] In his work with the government, he identified a direct correlation between Thailand's poverty and population growth.[2] His immediate concern was the high population growth rate of 3.2%, which equated to approximately seven children per family.[3] The population growth rate was an increasing concern for Thailand and Mechai Viravaidya because high growth rates restricted Thailand's ability to provide for its entire population and improve living conditions.[2] By 2011, Thailand's population growth rate was only 0.566%.[4] A sharp reduction in poverty has followed upon the reduction in family size, a reduction which can in significant part be attributed to the influence and programs of the PDA.[3]
The Population and Community Development Association has concentrated on reaching rural towns and villages with family planning and development programs.[3] It has operated on the belief that “local people are best suited to shape and sustain their own development.”[5] Most of its programs empower communities on a micro level, utilizing a “bottom up” approach.[2] As of 2009, the PDA had 18 regional centers which ran development programs in one-third of the country. Today, the organization consists of over 800 employees and 12,000 volunteers and is one of Thailand's most expansive and diverse NGOs.[5]
Initially, the PDA sought to reduce population growth by focusing on efforts both to combat child mortality and to encourage family planning. Viravaidya deduced that family planning would not be widely adopted in Thailand if children did not survive.[2] Therefore, his solution to controlling population growth, which was at 3.3%, was to target maternal and child healthcare. At the same time, the PDA made various methods of birth control accessible to rural populations. The PDA discovered that birth control pills were used by only 20% of the population because getting them required access to medical personnel. To target the remaining 80% of the country, the PDA invested in multiple initiatives - including the popularization of free condoms, increased access to birth control, incentives for women to not become pregnant, and slogans to encourage smaller families.[2]
The Thai family planning programs met notable success. By 2015, total fertility had dropped to 1.5 children per woman. Following on the drop in unwanted fertility, the poverty rate dropped sharply; from 32.4% in 2003 10.9% in 2013.
Mission and purpose
The original mission of the Population and Community Association was to supplement the efforts of the Thai government to reduce poverty by promoting family planning. To accomplish this, the PDA has focused on targeting remote rural communities where government outreach has not been viable. Realizing that a high population growth rate is a barrier to economic development, the PDA's focus has been on implementing family planning programs to lower the population growth rate. It has sought to do so through community-based, participatory approaches to educate and empower village residents. Since its inception, the program mission has expanded to include rural development and the improvement of overall health conditions.[1] Engaging in a "people-centered approach," the PDA has worked to empower communities to identify its own needs and then work to improve conditions based on those needs - a form of self-help.[1] Today, the PDA works to address a multitude of issues that affect poverty levels. Some of these activities include: health care, HIV/AIDS services and awareness, access to clean water resources, reliable means of income, environmental conservation, gender equality, youth education and services, democratic engagement, and small-scale business initiatives, including village owned banks providing micro-credit loans.[6]
Founder
Mechai Viravaidya in 2008
Mechai Viravaidya founded the Population and Community Development Association in 1974, at which time it was named the Community-Based Family Planning Service.[1] He began his work with rural communities in Thailand in 1965 when he returned to Thailand from studying at the University of Melbourne in Australia. After studying he got a job working for the National Economic and Social Development Board and later became the Minister of Industry. As part of his job, Mechai Viravaidya spent time visiting rural areas of Thailand. Relative to other government officials, he spent a lot of time in discussion with villagers and farmers. Viravaidya then began writing a weekly column that was published in a Bangkok newspaper. He also taught at Thammasat University and had a nightly radio show during the same time period. Later he played a leading role on a television soap opera series. These experiences helped him gain the attention of the media and the support of a wide variety of audiences. When the Thai government created a national family planning policy, Viravaidya worked as secretary-general of the Family Planning Association of Thailand for two years.[1] Viravaidya then switched to the non-profit sector when he founded the CBFPS in 1974. Today, Viravaidya continues to work as chairman of the PDA.
Timeline
The Population and Community Development Association was established in 1976 as a response to the need for a diversified approach to poverty reduction in Thailand. Originally the organization was called the Community-Based Family Planning Service (CBFPS) which was established in 1974.[1] Two years later, the CBFPS became a sub-agency within the PDA. Several other sub-agencies and separate associations have been created since then:[7]
1974 - established as the Community-Based Family Planning Service (CBFPS)
1975 - Population & Development Company (PDC) created as a separate business to fulfill fundraising needs
1976 - CBFPS renamed as the Population and Community Development Association (PDA)
1978 - Community-Based Appropriate Technology Development Services (CBATDS) created as a sub-agency
1978 - Asian Center for Population & Community Development (ACPD) established as a separate international organization
1979 - Community-Based Emergency Relief Services (CBERS) created as a sub-agency
1979 - Community Based Integrated Rural Development (CBIRD) created a sub-agency
1983 - Community-Based Incentives-Thailand (CBIT) created as a sub-agency
1983 - Population and Development International (PDI) established as a separate organization
1984 - Rural Small Scale Industries (RSSI) Company was created as a separate business
1989 - The Thai Business Initiative in Rural Development (TBIRD) created as a sub-agency
Funding
The PDA is funded through several different sources. Most of its funding comes from international donors, other NGOs and foundations, private sector businesses and foreign governments.[1] The establishment of the original organization was funded by the International Planned Parenthood Federation.[8] However, as the organization grew it diversified its funding and currently does not rely solely on international donors for continuous aid. Instead it has utilized various methods to work towards financial self-sustainability. In 1975, Viravaidya received a loan which he used to start a business that is legally separate from the PDA.[6] This business has expanded into 16 separate companies under the Population and Community Development Company Ltd.[1][6] These companies complement the work of the PDA by providing services such as health and medicine supplies and affordable restaurant food with a condom theme (known as Cabbages and Condoms). The profits from these companies are then used to help offset the PDA costs. Also, it can be used to supplement funds when donor aid is limited and to expand existing PDA services and programs. In the past, funds from these separate businesses have accounted for as much as 70% of required financing to maintain existing PDA activity.[6] As a response to an overall decline of foreign development aid, the Thai Business Initiative for Rural Development (TBIRD) was created in 1989.[1]
Strategies
The Population and Community Development Association has used many different strategies to promote its programs. Often the strategies are considered unique or creative. Some of these strategies include:[1][2]
Efforts to make condoms more accessible & remove the stigma associated with them, like
Holding condom balloon blowing competitions
Creating a Captain Condom mascot
Making condoms available at associated Cabbages & Condoms restaurants in lieu of mints
Educating children in school
Having Buddhist monks sprinkle holy water on condoms
Overseeing a "Condom is the Girl's Best Friend" campaign
Having police officers distribute condoms in a "Cops and Rubbers" program
Encouraging vasectomies by
Making donations into a community fund for every vasectomy performed
Holding a vasectomy lunch for Americans in Thailand
Increasing the availability of birth control pills
By utilizing floating markets to provide contraceptives/birth control pill
By training of local shopkeepers to prescribe birth control pill
Educating the population about HIV/AIDS
By using of military radio stations
Encouraging development
By making micro-loans available to general villagers at relatively low interest rates, especially for villages that use contraceptives
By creating village banks operated by (mostly) women within the village community
Relationship with Thai government
Throughout its existence, the PDA has involved the government of Thailand in its activities. Viravaidya largely attributes the success of the PDA in reducing population growth in Thailand to the strong cooperation between the non-profit sector and the government.[1]
In 1971 the Thai government instituted a national family planning policy. Viravaidya was the secretary-general in the National Family Planning Association of Thailand, which worked to implement the government created policy. However, its impact was limited and Virvaidya went on to form the organization Community-Based Family Planning Service (CBFPS) in 1974, which later became incorporated under the broader PDA.[1]
Overall, the government has been supportive of the PDA and its programs. Before beginning a new program or spreading to a new town, the PDA consults with the local government agency. It partners with the government in order to target and serve rural communities that the government does not have the capacity reach.[9] Furthermore, the reduction in Thailand's population growth rate has largely been aided by the government's efforts to establish and maintain a national family planning policy. Also, the Ministry of Public Health adopted family planning into its national health service and led the way for the distribution of contraceptives by non-physicians.[10] Both the PDA and the public acknowledge the successes of the Thai government and the National Family Planning Program in aiding family planning services.
Services
Women's health and maternity
Empowering women's reproductive health ultimately advocates for eliminating gender inequalities. This increases women's socio-economic participation, consequently alleviating poverty in developing states. The PDA recognized that educating women on family planning and reproductive health created the following benefits: providing women the agency to make decisions about family planning, improving couples communication, and modifying sexual behaviors.[11]
The PDA encourages smaller families given that the benefits have direct economic repercussions. Families can reallocate resources previously spent on providing for their dependents and increase their savings. This additional income thereby becomes more likely to be invested in the health and education of their children. Additionally, women are more likely to join the paying work force if they are not restricted to the home and childcare. Given women's influence capacity within the home and community, the PDA tailors its family planning initiatives toward women.[11]
Unwanted pregnancies
In Thailand, abortion is illegal with severe offense and punishment if convicted. Only in extremely rare cases are women permitted to have an abortion with no offense. Consequently, there were no professional clinics available to provide safe services for unwanted pregnancies for Thai women. A study published by the Population Council of New York released the following statistic: in 1978, 310,000 induced abortions occurred in Thailand at a rate of 37 abortions for every 1,000 women between the ages of 15 and 44. This statistic could be attributed to Thai women's restricted access to contraceptives, resources/services, and basic information regarding family planning. Due to the legal consequences, women turned to doctors operating illegally and "back alley" operations to terminate unwanted pregnancies. Many women who sought out these means of abortion died directly from the procedure or later from contracted complications and infections.[11]
Mechai and the PDA acknowledged the growing need for safe services and information in regards to unwanted pregnancies. However, the PDA faced two major dilemmas in providing such resources – financing such an initiative and operating within the law. The solution was a loan of one million baht from International Pregnancy Advisory Service (IPAS) endorsing a separate legal entity, a comprehensive clinic, from the PDA.[11]
The clinic provides safe services to terminate pregnancies and is operated by professional staff. The PDA is able to organize this clinic under a protective policy, which permits such services within legal safety boundaries. Couples are counseled and thoroughly informed of family planning practices. Contraceptives are advised and supplied. This clinic enables choice for women – no abortive procedures may be done without complete consent from the woman.[11]
Thai women were previously unable to obtain safe termination services mostly due to financial restrictions. The PDA recognizes this constraint and actively works to make the clinic accessible for everyone that requires its services. Charges for abortion procedures are minimal or negotiable depending on the recipient and her specific circumstances. The medical professional staff offers their time and services at a reasonable hourly rate rather than by procedure. For women whom cannot afford the procedure not access to the clinic, the PDA offers to cover both their services and transportation fees to and from the clinic. The clinic does not profit monetarily from its services and clientele. Any additional revenue generated is either put towards repaying the IPAS loan or investing into the clinic itself. The PDA is committed to making termination procedures, counseling, information, and contraceptives widely accessible and affordable for everyone, especially women.[11]
In 1982, a second clinic was opened in Chiang Rai. This was the first operation of its kind to be located in Thailand's rural provinces. In 1985, Bangkok opened two clinics, but these were eventually shut down in 1987. In 1989, two more clinics were established, one in Chiang Mai and the other in Nakhon Ratchasima. The most recent clinic was created in Phitsanuloke in 2002.
HIV and AIDS
In September 1984, Thailand reported its first case of AIDS. Unlike the common stigmatized association of AIDS with homosexual communities, HIV/AIDS in developing nations is also a heterosexual problem. In Thailand, individuals at risk for HIV/AIDS were exposed to the virus via their husbands, by continual sex partners, or by the sex trade industry. Thailand identified six main high-risk groups for contracting HIV/AID: homosexuals, injecting drug users (IUDs), sex workers, individuals receiving blood transfusions, other heterosexuals, and infants whose mothers are HIV carriers.[12]
At the onset of the AIDS epidemic, Thailand was ranked second only to Africa in its number of reported AIDS cases. In 1997, UNAIDS (United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS) and the World Health Organization (WHO) released the following statistics:[13]
770,000 adults and 14,000 children in Thailand were reported HIV-positive
predictions forecast that 30 of 10,000 children have lost either their mother or both parents to AIDS by 1999
The PDA released additionally alarming statistics about the spread of HIV and the growing prevalence of AIDS in Thailand:[12] the percentage of HIV positives in the Thai population was at 4% in December 1987 and by September 1988 had risen to 43% (a span of nine months)
The Thai government did not address the AIDS epidemic.[12] Mechai Viravaidya believed that the government's lack of influence and assistance in the AIDS epidemic within Thailand required action by someone.[2] Viravaidya assigned himself and the PDA to the task of addressing the HIV/AIDS[12] and called upon everyone in the nation to become involved.[2] The PDA believes that the affected population group is fully capable of advocating for themselves if given the enabling resources and support by all sectors of Thai society.[12]
The PDA addressed the AIDS epidemic with a three part strategy:[12]
Create and circulate educational materials to communicate with the masses
Educate other similar organization to PDA to enact parallel strategies to fight and treat AIDS
Advocacy
In 1987, the PDA launched an educational strategy to increase awareness of AIDS in Thailand. The PDA constructed five target groups: government officials, community leaders, youths, commercial sex workers, and women. The underlying initiative of the educational awareness launch was to enable and empower the target groups to advocate behavioral changes in Thailand to avoid infecting the entire population. In 1990, Viravaidya released a statement remarking, “We [Thailand] have no high risk groups, we only have high risk nationality.” [12]
Since the onset of the AIDS epidemic in Thailand, the PDA has established 45 initiatives to educate and prevent HIV/AIDS. The PDA takes the position of HIV/AIDS as a behavioral issue within Thai society rather than an infectious disease. From this standpoint, the PDA adopts an advocate model for its fight against HIV/AIDS, thereby encouraging empowerment for at risk individuals to secure their own health through positive sexual behaviors and practices. The implementation of these programs has had enormous benefits for the Thai population. The United Nations reported that new cases of HIV had been reduced by 90%. The World Bank reported 7.7 million lives were saved. The PDA reported that their total spent funds on the HIV/AIDS campaign is 62,329,590 Baht.[12]
Viravaidya and the PDA turned to the Royal Thai Army for support where the government was unwilling and unable in their HIV/AIDS campaign. The government receives criticism for its passive actions towards the sex tourism industry, where HIV/AIDS is prevalent and most likely to spread. The military was cooperative with Viravaidya and the PDA's requests to utilize its broadcasting capacity to reach the masses. The Army permitted the PDA the use of 326 radio stations to broadcast nationwide a three-year HIV/AIDS educational campaign. The Army then took an even more active role in the fight against AIDS by removing the stigma from HIV positive recruits by permitting a continuation of service within the Army for HIV positive soldiers.[12]
The PDA created the Corporate Education Program to incorporate the business sector into their HIV/AIDS campaign. The enrollment for this initiative is over 100 companies. The PDA trains and educates personnel from different companies about HIV/AIDS. These representatives then relay the training back to their own companies and provide resources and information to HIV positive employees. The PDA asks participating companies to utilize their networks to further spread information and advocacy for the prevention of HIV/AIDS.[12]
The PDA's most widely accessible initiative is its Mobile Anonymous HIV Testing Clinic. It provides free HIV and STD testing by public health-care providers. Additionally, it provides counseling services for infected and/or affected individuals. PDA has touring buses equipped with TVs and information handouts. These buses constantly play clips about education, prevention, and agency for HIV/AIDS – thereby eliminating any barriers of communication for illiteracy and low socio-economic individuals.[12]
A large and publicized component of the PDA's HIV/AIDS campaign is Viravaidya's initiative to desensitize the condom. The rationale behind the condom movement is that if Thai society can widely accept the advocacy of condoms then individuals would be actively supporting positive sexual behaviors and practices. The PDA and Viravaidya support advocacy of the condom for all ages because it is viewed as a generational issue. Parents and teachers do not object to integrating condoms and HIV/AIDS instruction into all levels of education, since such programs are saving lives. See more under PDA strategy.[12]
The HIV/AIDS epidemic directly affects the Thai economy and thereby Thailand's development. The increasing infection rate of HIV and the subsequent mortality rate of Thai's youths will restrict the future labor force, creating an insufficiency of production capacity for Thailand's future. Simultaneously, such infected and/or affected individuals will place a strain on the Thai health care system. Therefore, the PDA and Viravaidya's HIV/AIDS campaign is both an immediate and long-term solution-based movement.[12]
Poverty reduction
An increasing rate in population growth is directly related to degrees of poverty in developing states. The repercussion of a high population growth rate include affecting education, health care, employment, economic growth, and overall development. Relative to poverty, high growth rates delay economic growth thereby constraining the poor's consumption capacity. A decrease in the growth rate would have both an immediate effect at the micro level and eventually at a macro level for a state's economy. A decreasing population growth rate creates a work force that must provide for fewer dependents at both ends of the age spectrum.[2][11]
The common slogan for battling population growth rate is, “delay the first, postpone the second and prevent the third.” [11]
The Community-Based Incentive Thailand (CBIT)
Criticism
PDA received some criticism in its early stages, mainly from government institutions. As a non-profit organization, it was considered controversial for PDA to sell condoms instead of distributing them for free. PDA counter-argued that selling condoms was necessary in order for it to sustain itself as an organization and rely less on foreign aid.[14]
Family planning services are “the ability of individuals and couples to anticipate and attain their desired number of children and the spacing and timing of their births. It is achieved through use of contraceptive methods and the treatment of involuntary infertility.” Family planning may involve consideration of the number of children a woman wishes to have, including the choice to have no children and the age at which she wishes to have them. These matters are influenced by external factors such as marital situation, career considerations, financial position, and any disabilities that may affect their ability to have children and raise them. If sexually active, family planning may involve the use of contraception and other techniques to control the timing of reproduction.
The XV International AIDS Conference was held in Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand, from July 11 to July 16, 2004. The main venue for the conference was the IMPACT Muang Thong Thani convention centre at Nonthaburi, north-east of downtown Bangkok. It was the first international AIDS conference to be held in Southeast Asia. International AIDS conferences have been held regularly since the first one in Atlanta in 1985.
Mechai Viravaidya is a former politician and activist in Thailand who promoted condoms, family planning and AIDS awareness in Thailand. Since the 1970s, Mechai has been affectionately known as "Mr. Condom", and condoms are often referred as "mechais" in Thailand. From the time that he began his work, the average number of children in Thai families has decreased from 7 to 1.5.
HIV/AIDS has been a public health concern for Latin America due to a remaining prevalence of the disease. In 2018 an estimated 2.2 million people had HIV in Latin America and the Caribbean, making the HIV prevalence rate approximately 0.4% in Latin America.
The very high rate of HIV infection experienced in Uganda during the 1980s and early 1990s created an urgent need for people to know their HIV status. The only option available to them was offered by the National Blood Transfusion Service, which carries out routine HIV tests on all the blood that is donated for transfusion purposes. The great need for testing and counseling resulted in a group of local non-governmental organizations such as The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO), Uganda Red Cross, Nsambya Home Care, the National Blood Bank, the Uganda Virus Research Institute together with the Ministry of Health establishing the AIDS Information Centre in 1990. This organization worked to provide HIV testing and counseling services with the knowledge and consent of the client involved.
Population Action International (PAI) is an international, non-governmental organization that uses research and advocacy to improve global access to family planning and reproductive health care. Its mission is to "ensure that every person has the right and access to sexual and reproductive health, so that humanity and the natural environment can exist in balance with fewer people living in poverty". PAI's headquarters is in Washington, D.C.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo was one of the first African countries to recognize HIV, registering cases of HIV among hospital patients as early as 1983.
HIV/AIDS in Lesotho constitutes a very serious threat to the Basotho people and Lesotho's economic development. Since its initial detection in 1986, HIV/AIDS has spread at alarming rates in Lesotho. In 2000, King Letsie III declared HIV/AIDS a natural disaster. According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in 2016, Lesotho's adult prevalence rate of 25% is the second highest in the world, following Eswatini.
Infection rates of HIV/AIDS in Mali are estimated to be under 2%, which is relatively low compared to other parts of Africa, although the infection rate is higher among women of childbearing age. However, this figure is most likely deceptive; the problem in attempting to estimate infection rates is that voluntary testing is rare. Women who give birth in a hospital are automatically tested, but others in the general population rarely present themselves for testing. National education campaigns have targeted the general population since the late 1990s, as government and international organizations are concerned that Malians may be vulnerable to the spread of the pandemic. Since 2002, the Supreme National Council for AIDS (HCNLS) has coordinated educational campaigns around sexual activity and condom use to stem HIV infection. Condom use remains low by international standards.
Mozambique is a country particularly hard-hit by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. According to 2008 UNAIDS estimates, this southeast African nation has the 8th highest HIV rate in the world. With 1,600,000 Mozambicans living with HIV, 990,000 of which are women and children, Mozambique's government realizes that much work must be done to eradicate this infectious disease. To reduce HIV/AIDS within the country, Mozambique has partnered with numerous global organizations to provide its citizens with augmented access to antiretroviral therapy and prevention techniques, such as condom use. A surge toward the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS in women and children has additionally aided in Mozambique's aim to fulfill its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Nevertheless, HIV/AIDS has made a drastic impact on Mozambique; individual risk behaviors are still greatly influenced by social norms, and much still needs to be done to address the epidemic and provide care and treatment to those in need.
Rwanda faces a generalized epidemic, with an HIV prevalence rate of 3.1 percent among adults ages 15 to 49. The prevalence rate has remained relatively stable, with an overall decline since the late 1990s, partly due to improved HIV surveillance methodology. In general, HIV prevalence is higher in urban areas than in rural areas, and women are at higher risk of HIV infection than men. Young women ages 15 to 24 are twice as likely to be infected with HIV as young men in the same age group. Populations at higher risk of HIV infection include people in prostitution and men attending clinics for sexually transmitted infections.
UNAIDS has said that HIV/AIDS in Indonesia is one of Asia's fastest growing epidemics. In 2010, it is expected that 5 million Indonesians will have HIV/AIDS. In 2007, Indonesia was ranked 99th in the world by prevalence rate, but because of low understanding of the symptoms of the disease and high social stigma attached to it, only 5-10% of HIV/AIDS sufferers actually get diagnosed and treated.
Since HIV/AIDS was first reported in Thailand in 1984, 1,115,415 adults had been infected as of 2008, with 585,830 having died since 1984. 532,522 Thais were living with HIV/AIDS in 2008. In 2009 the adult prevalence of HIV was 1.3%. As of 2016, Thailand had the highest prevalence of HIV in Southeast Asia at 1.1 percent, the 40th highest prevalence of 109 nations.
Cases of HIV/AIDS in Peru are considered to have reached the level of a concentrated epidemic. According to a population-based survey conducted in Peru’s 24 largest cities in 2002, adult HIV prevalence was estimated to be less than 1 percent. The survey demonstrated that cases are unevenly distributed in the country, affecting mostly young people between the ages of 25 and 34. As of July 2010, the cumulative reported number of persons infected with HIV was 41,638, and there were 26,566 cases of AIDS, according to the Ministry of Health (MOH), and the male/female ratio for AIDS diagnoses in 2009 was 3.02 to 1. The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimates 76,000 Peruvians are HIV-positive, meaning that many people at risk do not know their status. There were 3,300 deaths due to AIDS in Peru in 2007, down from 5,600 deaths in 2005.
In 2016, the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS in adults aged 15–49 was 0.3%, relatively low for a developing country. This low prevalence has been maintained, as in 2006, the HIV prevalence in Mexico was estimated at around 0.3% as well. The infected population is remains mainly concentrated among high risk populations, MSM, intravenous drug users, and commercial sex workers. This low national prevalence is not reflected in the high-risk populations. The prison population in Mexico, faces a fairly similar low rate of around 0.7%. Among the population of prisoners, around 2% are known to be infected with HIV. Sex workers, male and female, face an HIV prevalence of around 7%. Identifying gay men and MSM have a prevalence of 17.3%. The highest risk-factor group is identifying transgender people; about 17.4% of this population is known to be infected with HIV. Around 90% of new infections occur by sex-related methods of transmission.. Of these known infected populations, around 60% of living infected people are known to be on anti-retroviral therapy (ART).
With only 0.2 percent of the adult population estimated to be HIV-positive, Nicaragua has one of the lowest HIV prevalence rates in Central America. HIV was first detected in Nicaragua in 1987, after concentrated epidemics had been reported in other Central American nations. The onset of the epidemic was likely delayed by Nicaragua’s 10-year civil war and the U.S.-led economic blockade, both of which left the country isolated for several years. Relative control over commercial sex work, low infection rates among injecting drug users, and a ban on the commercial sale of blood also slowed HIV transmission. However, the country is at risk of a broader epidemic because of social conditions such as multiple sex partners, gender inequality, and widespread poverty. Many people are unaware of their HIV status and could unwittingly spread the disease. UNAIDS estimates Nicaragua has 7,300 HIV-positive people, nearly half of whom were identified over the past three years.
The relationship between religion and HIV/AIDS has been an ongoing one, since the advent of the pandemic. Many faith communities have participated in raising awareness about HIV/AIDS, offering free treatment, as well as promoting HIV/AIDS testing and preventative measures. Christian denominations, such as Lutheranism and Methodism, have advocated for the observance of World AIDS Day to educate their congregations about the disease. Some Churches run voluntary blood testing camps and counselling centers to diagnose and help those affected by HIV/AIDS.
Sex education in India to the organised delivery by Indian governments and non-profits of material regarding sex, sexuality, and pregnancy. The three categories of sex education in India are (1) the sex education courses targeted at adolescents in school, (2) family planning for adults, and (3) HIV/AIDS Prevention Education. This article outlines the current state of, efficacy of, and opposition to these types of sex education in India. For history regarding family planning in India, see Family Planning in India.
Wiwat Rojanapithayakorn is a Thai public health official known for developing the 100% condom program in Thailand in 1989. He first pioneered the program as the director of Thailand's Office of Communicable Disease Control in Ratchaburi, and while he was the director of the country's Center for the Prevention and Control of AIDS. He, together with Mechai Viravaidya, won the Prince Mahidol Award in 2009 for this work. He later served as the leader of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS team in Beijing, China.
References
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Viravaidya, Mechai (1997). Reasons for Hope: The Population and Community Development Association in Thailand. Kumarian Press. pp.203–215.
↑ Young, Margaret; J.D. Schvaneveldt; Shelley Lindauer; Paul Schvanveldt (October 2001). "Understanding AIDS: A Comparison of Children in the United States and Thailand". National Council on Family Relations. 50 (4): 394–401. JSTOR585797.
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