Preventing HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Thailand

1. Comment on the Brazilian and Indian governments’ strategies for the prevention of AIDS via the marketing of condoms.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS is a pandemic problem affecting global health. At the end of 2015, 36.7 million people were living with HIV/AIDS globally. The rate of incidence is more prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa with almost 1 in every 24 adults living with HIV/AIDS. In the united states, HIV/AIDS is a diversified health problem affecting all sexes, ages and races and involving the transmission of multiple risk behavior. However, with the introduction of various prevention programs and antiretroviral drugs, the incidence of HIV/AIDS has reduced.

Throughout history, contagious diseases and prostitution have been closely bound together. Contagious diseases are an interesting topic since they were endemic in the nineteenth century and their consequences were severe, producing a lot of deaths.

The honesty box tries to bring out hidden facts behind the myths told by various researchers concerning HIV/AIDS.  Some of these myths are based on the data presented which are usually inflated to favor funding and to act as a precautionary measure that AIDS exists everywhere. The book opens the ‘honesty box’ on drawbacks of medical research within the tropics. Pisani tackles highly contentious issues with zest, including the possible public health shortcoming of antiretroviral treatment, in addition to the benefits of mandatory HIV/AIDS testing. The author also presents data to show that if couples living in Thailand were to have further premarital sex, then their men would be the least likely to use commercial sex workers and the

According to the CDC (2015), more than one million people are living with HIV in the United States, and more than 50,000 become newly infected each year. Unfortunately, one in five Americans living with HIV are unaware of their infection. I believe using the strategy which stresses the use of the 10 essential services of public health will help reduce the incidence of HIV in our

The risks of becoming infected and spreading diseases when involved in prostitution are high, but if legalized, regulations can be made that would provide the proper health care. The life story of a woman named Irina in an article, “For The Legalization of prostitution,” shared her personal experiences she had to overcome in her line of work. Irina stated that she faced many challenges, such as “…6 abortions and a bunch of diseases” (Amanzholova, and Akhmetova 45). This statement alone shows that diseases are not the only medical aspects that affect the lives of those involved in prostitution. Unwanted pregnancies and abortions are also high risk

Prostitution is a controversial issue that has been around since the beginning of time and has recently became a major problem in today’s society. Prostitution is defined as the practice or occupation of engaging in sexual activity with someone for payment. Prostitution is often times referred to as “the oldest profession in the business”. It is prohibited in several countries, the United States included, though in some countries it is accepted and is legal in many others. Today, prostitution is so controversial because of the number of youth involved in it. Those who oppose prostitution are against it because it endangers a big portion of women with diseases and can also be considered as a form of slavery. Due to the fact that prostitution increases the risk of sexually transmitted diseases, or STDs, while also destroying the image of areas it has heavily polluted, along with the morality of the women involved in it, it is seen as a practice that needs to be done away with, or mandated by the government.

HIV is an epidemic that is present worldwide, the disease is concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa for the most part. In context, of the estimated thirty-four million cases of HIV in 2008, twenty-two to twenty-three cases were in sub-Saharan Africa. On the contrary, 1.4 million people are infected with HIV in North America. (Sigall K. Bell, MD, 2011, p. 38). Further, the sum of global infections approximately two million are under fifteen of age. Approximately 50,000 cases a year are in the United States due to the lack of prevention, which then leads to overall prevention. Potential causes of the spreading of HIV are non-effective educational messages along with the high-risk sexual behavior. Also, this just calls for increasing chances of acquiring

HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus (Avert). It is virus that attacks the immune system, our body’s defense against disease (Avert). Individuals who become infected with HIV will find it harder to fight infections (Avert). HIV is located in semen, blood, vaginal and anal fluids, and breast milk (HIV and Aids). The most common method to become infected is through anal or vaginal sex without a condom (HIV and Aids). Other forms of contraction include using infected needles/ syringes, from mother to child during pregnancy, or breastfeeding (HIV and Aids). If left untreated, AIDS can evolve, this is when a person’s immune system becomes too weak to fight infection and can no longer defend itself (What is AIDS). Despite there not being a cure, an early diagnosis and effective treatment can enable people to live a normal, healthy life (HIV and Aids). This paper will focus on the HIV epidemic. It will compare and contrast HIV in the United States and in Kenya. The paper will review the specific populations affected, testing and counseling centers, funding and economic impact, and prevention programs each country is executing.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the majority of people in the world living with HIV/AIDS reside in Sub-Saharan Africa. Since there is currently no vaccine to prevent the spread of the infection, there have been countless attempts in the past to control the spread of HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa. There are multiple ways of infection spread in Sub-Saharan Africa. People are contracting the disease through, drug use, sexual relations, giving birth, and blood-to-blood contact. With so many ways to contract the infection it makes the prevention of spreading the infection so difficult, especially in such a low-income country. These challenges have not stopped many scientists, educators, and health-care professionals create interventions to try and stop the wildfire, that is the spread of HIV/AIDS in Sub- Saharan Africa. Most interventions have failed and some have helped. There are a huge amount of factors that need to be carefully thought about when creating an intervention. What looks good on paper may not work for the culture of a country. Making all people in sub- Saharan Africa listen, understand and act on a plan is nearly impossible.

As the sex industry becomes more prominent in society, copious individuals urge the government to take actions. These people argued for the total prohibition of prostitution with strict regulations against those participating in either the act of

Just as clearly, experience shows that the right approaches, applied quickly enough with courage and resolve, can and do result in lower HIV infection rates and less suffering for those affected by the epidemic. An ever-growing AIDS epidemic is not inevitable; yet, unless action against the epidemic is scaled up drastically, the damage already done will seem minor compared with what lies ahead. This may sound dramatic, but it is hard to play down the effects of a disease that stands to kill more than half of the young adults in the countries where it has its firmest hold—most of them before they finish the work of caring for their children or providing for their elderly parents. Already, 18.8 million people around the world have died of AIDS, 3.8 million of them children. Nearly twice that many—34.3 million—are now living with HIV, the virus [9].

Juusola et al. (2012) added to this literature with a study of the cost-effectiveness of daily oral PrEP for MSM. Using a detailed economic analysis combined with the dynamic progression and transmission of HIV/AIDS model, the researchers assessed PrEP cost-effectiveness (based on clinical trials showing a 44 percent reduction in infection) in the general MSM population, and among high-risk MSM. The results indicate that initiating PrEP in 20 percent of U.S. MSM over 20 years would yield a 13 percent reduction in new infections, for a gain of 550,166 QALYs, at a cost $172,091 per QALY gained. Were PrEP to be initiated in a larger proportion of MSM, more new infections would be averted but at a rising cost per QALY gained. On the other

In the last three decades HIV/ AIDS has become the one of the most notorious and widely spread diseases in the modern world. Its discovery in the late seventies prompted worldwide concern. The one thing that has become the most bothersome thing about the HIV/ AIDS epidemic is prevention. Prevention or stopping the transmission of the diseases is hindered by factors such as: denial or non-acceptance by infected persons, unsafe sex, and non-disclosure by infected persons to their at risk sexual partner(s). According to Alghazo, Upton, and Cioe (2011):

Multiple HIV testing and prevention programs have been run in Haiti in the last decade. One such trial, carried out in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, evaluated the success of three different rapid syphilis tests as compared to two "gold standard" tests. These “gold standard” tests were the older tests that have been reliable in the past, but generally take longer to achieve the results. The researchers’ main goal was to find out whether rapid HIV screening was more cost-effective than the “gold standard” tests that are normally run. The data that was collected from these tests was used to create a model comparing three