Disease Control Dept to encourage teens to carry condoms
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Parents are being encouraged to allow daughters of secondary school age to carry two condoms to prevent sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and teenage pregnancy, Disease Control Department chief Dr Pornthep Siriwanarangsan said yesterday.
He cited the results of a study, which showed that 20 per cent of Mathayom 2 students, 40 per cent of Mathayom 5 students and 50-60 per cent of vocational students were having sexual relations.
Pornthep went on to say that 42 per cent of STD patients were individuals under the age of 20, and the cause was mainly down to unprotected sex. Of these, 80 per cent were also pregnant. The department thus would campaign for teenagers, male and female, to carry condoms. He suggested that parents of secondary students give their adolescents two condoms a day and said parents could buy condoms or acquire them from health offices because the department procured 60 million condoms a year to hand out.
With Thailand now reporting 12,000 new HIV infections per year, Thai Red Cross Society secretary-general Phaen Wannamethee urged people to have their blood tested.
Free blood tests would be available at five Bangkok malls (The Mall Ngam Wong Wan, The Mall Bang Kapi, The Mall Bang Khae, Central Rama II and Central Rama III) on November 30 and December 1, to mark World Aids Day on December 1, he said. The test result would be available in one hour, he added, pointing out that early detection meant early treatment, keeping the virus count in the blood low, thus prolonging longevity.
Thailand had 500,000 people living with HIV. Some 200,000 didn’t receive treatment out of ignorance of their condition and thus failed to take care of their health until they became ill, Public Health Minister Pradit Sinthawanarong said. He added that the universal healthcare subscribers were entitled to two HIV blood tests per year.
