Lack of condom use 'crisis for Thai teens'

HIV/Aids has become the No 2 killer of Thai youths and the death toll is expected to get worse without effective moves to counter unsafe sex, a recent study shows.

The study, published in the journal of the Royal College of Paediatricians of Thailand, compared adolescent problems in Thailand and the state of California in the US.

Thailand and California had a similar young population of about seven to eight million, lead author Dr Suriyadeo Tripathi, chief of the Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health's Adolescent Clinic, said yesterday.

But the findings were disturbing. In the US state, the second highest cause of fatalities among youngsters was homicide, while in Thailand HIV/Aids was to blame.

A few years ago when he carried out his study in the US, the number of HIV-positive Thai adolescents was as high as 60,000 compared to only 4,000 in California.

A related indicator was teenage mothers. The number of mothers aged 15-19 then was 70 per thousand in Thailand and 80 per thousand in California.

However, the latest figures show the problem was subsiding in the US but growing in Thailand. Now the teenage motherhood rate here is about 90 per thousand but only 50 per thousand in California.

"Basically, Thai adolescents started to have sex earlier while getting married later, allowing a longer period of time for casual sex, which led to primarily unwanted pregnancies and sexually-transmitted diseases especially HIV/Aids," Suriyadeo said.

The study found that the average age of local adolescents starting to have sex was only 16, one year earlier than the figure for California, but condom use was much lower at 23 per cent here compared with the Californian counterparts at 58 per cent.

"California is the only state that refused to take up George W Bush's abstinence policy and is regarded as one of the freest sex states," said Suriyadeo, referring to the abstinence policy of the US president aimed at preventing sexual diseases.

Unlike California, the situation here had reached crisis proportions because Thailand lacked practical measures to deal with risky sexual behaviour among teens, he said.

The situation in the US has improved as a result of serious efforts such as the establishment of the Sexual Information and Education Council, the promotion of abstinence education, plus national safe sex campaigns.

"It's time for Thailand to take action," he said. To raise awareness, Thailand is expected to be selected as host of the Ninth International Association for Adolescent Health Conference in 2009.

Arthit Khwankhom

The Nation