Using incentives to encourage AIDS programs and policies in the workplace: A study of feasibility and impact in Thailand

Thailand has received international attention as one of the few developing countries to begin to see the impact of efforts to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS at a national level. Since the onset of a national AIDS education and prevention campaign in 1990-91 evidence has documented a reduction in the number of visitors to sex workers an increase in condom usage a dramatic decline in STI prevalence and substantial reductions in the number of new HIV infections. Data indicate that the number of new HIV cases in Thailand peaked in the early 1990s and that an estimated 2 new infections have been averted since 1993. Despite the reduction in new infections an estimated 7 people of Thailand’s total population of 61 million are currently living with HIV/AIDS. Thailand will continue to face high levels of demand for medical services as the epidemic matures and households will continue to face poverty as people living with HIV progress to more advanced stages of disease. (excerpt)