The US Agency for International Development ( USAID ) and the US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief ( PEPFAR ) are two of the main sources of funding for Thailand’s HIV/AIDS epidemic.
The country has been making sure HIV/Aids patients receive treatment, and those with high rates of contracting HIV, such as transgender women ( TGW), sex workers ( SW), migrant workers, and drug users, all take advantage of these funds.
Thailand’s efforts to protect its citizens ‘ health and support the UN’s goal of ending the HIV/Aids epidemic by 2030 have been hindered by the recent national executive order to freeze humanitarian money globally.
STATS Problem
Surang Janyam, director of the Service Workers in Group Foundation ( SWING ), claimed Thailand’s success in reducing HIV was attributable to the outreach efforts of civil society organizations, particularly those who had limited access to HIV/Aids treatment.
Nearly 600, 000 people were targeted by civil organizations under the RRTTPR ( Reach, Recruit, Test, Treat, Prevent, and Retain ) framework, according to the National Health Security Office last year.
In addition, the government’s work succeeded in reaching just under 100 000 individuals.
According to Ms. Surang, NGOs were mostly funded by PEPFAR and USAID, which provided free services for body tests and other HIV/AIDS related needs.
The majority of the money is used to pay for business expenses, rent, and salaries, and purchase of HIV testing products. However, according to Ms. Surang, the executive order of US President Donald Trump caused a number of community-based solutions to shut down.
According to a statement from Thai civic organizations for 2025, 93, 186 people who receive RRTTPR services from civil society clinics will be affected by the reduction in US funding.
Over 52, 000 people who visit NGO-run facilities to get tested for HIV, romantically transmitted diseases, and hepatitis C would not have access to those companies. Additionally, 4, 372 transgender patients who visit their clinic had been impacted.
Ms. Surang added that although NGO-run facilities can refund their income from the National Health Security Office after providing PrEP-related service, hiring employees is not covered because USAID supports their earnings.
Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis solutions that are free to qualified high-risk individuals are known as PrEP. That includes treatment, counseling, HIV testing, and assistance. Around 101, 305 PrEP people, according to Ms Surang, may be impacted by the aid ice.
Surang: Some PrEP users will experience side effects.
Targets RETURN ONCE
The Thailand National Aids Plan has three targets, including reducing new infections, reducing the death burdens, and battling shame for those living with HIV, with an overall goal of ending Aids by 2030, according to Achara Pakdeepinit, head of mental development at the Thai Public Health Ministry’s Aids and STIs Division.
The government approved 50 million baht this year to purchase STIs and HIV prevention tools like condoms and testing kits, while the government approved around 10 million baht to start a campaign to end Aids nationwide. She claimed that civil society organizations are crucial partners in the division’s effort and that both rely heavily on US funding.
Since June 2024, the division has been working on a” Provincial Model” to combat Aids at the provincial level in 14 provinces, which was supported by PEPFAR in terms of equipment and salaries. She noted that the project may now be put on hold as a result of the executive order, which would make it more difficult for the division and civil society organizations to achieve the national strategy.
Achara: The project may now be put off.
Many nations rely heavily on USAID and PEPFAR to address their HIV/AIDS challenges and help save the lives of those living with HIV, according to Patchara Benjarattanaporn, Thailand’s UNAIDS Country Director.
UNAIDS predicts that the outcomes will be devastating if PEPFAR wasn’t reauthorized between 2025 and 2029 and if other resources are discovered for the HIV response worldwide.
Between 2025 and 2029, there could be an additional 6.3 million Aids-related deaths, 3.4 million Aids orphans, 350, 000 new HIV infections among children, and 8.7 million new HIV adult infections worldwide.
She claimed that PEPFAR support had been crucial in reducing new HIV infections since the disease’s peak in the early 2000s, and that many nations are on the verge of achieving the “95-95-95” goal of HIV control, which included 95 % of people receiving treatment and 95 % of those receiving the virus when it becomes too undetectable.
UNAIDS predicted that the world’s efforts to combat HIV would suffer 10 years of regression if the fund suspension were to continue for the next two years, including a 97 % to 144 % increase in new HIV infections and a 17 % to 28 % increase in HIV-related deaths over the next two years.
If the fund is held until 2030, it will lead to 25 years of decline, with 4 million new HIV infections and a 148- to 247 % increase in new HIV infections. More than 1 million more deaths are related to HIV, according to this statistic.
This will ensure that the world will completely recover from the 25 years of aid elimination, she continued.
She praised Thailand as still being fortunate that 91 % of HIV responses are funded domestically, while 4 % are funded by the US government. The Global Fund, an international financial institution, provides the rest.
However, only 2 % to 5 % of the HIV/Aids budget went toward supporting community-level organizations, and only 1 % of that budget went toward stigma and discrimination prevention, a field that was primarily funded by foreign funds, primarily from the US.
Ms. Patchara argued that Thailand should rely on itself for HIV/AIDS funding by increasing domestic funding to 95 % as soon as possible, citing India, which has relied on similar funding patterns.
She also suggested that primary care should be given priority and that the community should offer comprehensive HIV health services to help the most vulnerable people.
Patchara: Thailand must rely on itself.