WHY IS HIV AGAIN ON THE RISE?

I wasn’t much surprised when a close friend came out – my gaydar had picked up the signal the first time we met. I was just silently waiting for his “grand opening”. 

It was a jolt, though, when he revealed he 

 was HIV positive. My world was shaken. Various feelings twisted together in my heart. It was all too real. I realised I could lose him to the underworld if he ever becomes too weak or skips a round of medicine. 

At the same time, part of me refused to accept his revelation. He’s always been more health-conscious than anyone else in my group. What could have gone wrong?

I’ve heard that HIV is on the rise again in Thailand, despite all the prevention campaigns. Radio host Vitaya Saeng-Aroon speculated recently about the possible reasons. Maybe people forget or decline to wear a condom or don’t care if their partner doesn’t. Some people see putting on a condom as an unwelcome interruption in the erotic momentum.

Vitaya also suggested that the HIV-Aids campaigns are communicating ineffectively. That seems to be the case to me.

There were two big drives this year. “Kid Gun Wai” targeted teenagers and young adults and featured gay men in the TV spots – you remember those young guys taking off layers and layers of T-shirts printed with messages about safe sex.

“Adam’s Love”, which had Tob Chaiwat as its first presenter, was aimed at MSM – men who have sex with men – so it extended to katoey. The campaign runs on the social media that form the chief communication channel for MSM and emphasises prevention and regular blood testing.

The two campaigns’ concepts and presentation are interesting. They don’t seek to frighten and they don’t exaggerate Aids’ effects. They say using a condom is normal behaviour – everybody does it, and why would anyone want to be “different”?

So the mass media and social networks show once again that they can reach a wide audience, but then what happens? The campaign spots are seen less frequently. 

I haven’t heard anything about “Kid Gun Wai” lately. Was that just a quick burst of fireworks, too brief to appreciate the effects?

“Adam’s Love” is still young and needs more big events to gain more attention. I really hope it won’t be another short-lived project. I don’t want to see more of my friends living with HIV – or dying from Aids.