Bangkok ‘safe love’ clinic in World AIDS Day spotlight after visit from US ambassador
Bangkok’s “safe love” clinic is under the spotlight as a success story in US-Thai efforts to eradicate HIV, after both countries marked World AIDS Day together on Friday.
US Ambassador Robert F Godec and Bangkok Deputy Governor Tavida Kamolvejch were at Public Health Centre 28 in Thonburi to showcase the fruits of collaboration between the capital and the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
Tavida said the journey of Centre 28, from its beginnings as a “safe love” clinic to becoming a comprehensive public health facility, had blazed a trail for efforts to combat HIV/Aids in Bangkok. She highlighted the single-day diagnosis and prescription service offered by the centre as an innovation in fighting the disease.
Centre 28 has so far provided pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) to 449 individuals and anti-retroviral and tuberculosis treatment to 5,748 people. The centre has seen 22,992 service visits this year alone.
Progress in the US-Thai collaboration was not just Bangkok's success, but part of the global effort to combat HIV/Aids," the Bangkok deputy governor said.
Sunthorn Sunthornchart, Bangkok’s Health Department director, hailed the success and unity of efforts by Bangkok, PEPFAR, and local community networks in preventing the virus from spreading.
Ambassador Godec emphasised the international importance of World AIDS Day, adding that the PEPFAR programme supported budgets that have prevented over 25 million deaths globally and helped 5.5 million babies be born HIV-free.
PEPFAR is run by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
Godec said the collaboration between the US and Thailand to end the spread of HIV/Aids was part of the remarkable 190-year relationship between the two countries.
