Thailand: Denial of HIV treatment erodes success on AIDS – Drug users driven away from effective HIV programs

Posted on November 29, 2007 by admin
Thailand: Denial of HIV treatment erodes success on AIDS - Drug users driven away from effective HIV programs - Human Rights Watch, November 29, 2007
...In 2003 the government of former Prime Minister Thaksin launched a repressive "war on drugs" that resulted in the extrajudicial killings of at least 2,275 drug users or dealers. A lasting consequence of this campaign has been to drive many drug users away from effective HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, out of fear of arrest and police violence.
..."The Thai government pays lip service to its official policy, which is to treat drug users as patients rather than criminals," said Suwannawong. "In reality, police collect information about drug users from health clinics, and arrest peer outreach workers outside drug treatment clinics. Drug users risk criminal charges if they seek health care services which are theirs by right..."
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