Wednesday 05 December, 2001
Tackling AIDS in Northern Thailand
A local solution to a global problem
When the HIV virus reached Thailand more than a decade ago, the district of Mae Chan in northern Thailand was devastated as the virus swept through its highly mobile border communities, hastened by drug use and the sex trade. Clare Arthurs reports on how the staff of a small hospital mobilised community support, from monks to puppet shows, to counter the spread of the disease. Now the United Nations is promoting the Mae Chan project to other countries as a dynamic model for local action on a global problem.
Click below to hear Clare Arthurs' special reports:
The story of a hospital which was overwhelmed by HIV-AIDS, so it looked outwards and changed the way it worked. Innovative programmes include a methadone programme and the involvement of monks to administer support to HIV-AIDS sufferers
The story of an extraordinary community which relies on a range of therapies, such as self-help workshops, counselling and growing herbs. It also reaches out to Burmese migrants who would otherwise receive no other support
The greatest challenge is to educate the young and prevent the next generation from making the same mistakes as their parents. How to do it? One project uses a puppet show to get the message out
People living with HIV-AIDS have had to change their roles, priorities and their very identities. Hear the story of how a long distance truck driver became an AIDS counsellor. Listen, too, to an interview with Dr Werasit Sittitrai, an associate for the Asia Pacific branch of UNAIDS, on how political leaders also need to be flexible about their priorities if they are to provide the kind of leadership that can tackle the AIDS epidemic.
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