รัฐบาลไทย-ข่าวทำเนียบรัฐบาล-​Thailand to host 51st UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board Meeting in Chiang Mai during December 13-16
วันอังคารที่ 13 ธันวาคม 2565
​Thailand to host 51st UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board Meeting in Chiang Mai during December 13-16
​Thailand to host 51st UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board Meeting in Chiang Mai during December 13-16
December 12, 2022, Deputy Government Spokesperson Traisuree Taisaranakul disclosed about a news release of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), dated December 11, 2022, on Thailand’s hosting of the 51st UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board Meeting (UNAIDS PCB) during December 13-16, 2022. This meeting will be the first time in 14 years that UNAIDS PCB meet outside Geneva, Switzerland and the second time it will be in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The first time was held in 2008 during which the then-Public Health Minister Chavarat Charnvirakul was chair of the meeting. This meeting will be chaired by his son, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Health, Anutin Charnvirakul.
According to the news release, UNAIDS commended Thailand’s global AIDS response leadership, as it has taken significant strides toward ending its HIV epidemic and is setting an example for the world of translating political will into action. Hosting this meeting in Thailand helps sustain momentum in the Asia Pacific region to fulfill commitments made by the community of nations in the 2021 political declaration on HIV.
With regard to Thailand’s HIV situation, there were an estimated 520,000 people living with HIV in 2021. The country has made considerable progress against AIDS, especially in providing life-saving testing and treatment to people living with HIV. Thailand was first in the region to be validated as having eliminated mother-to-child HIV transmission in 2016. It has also joined the Global Partnership to Eliminate all Forms of HIV-related Stigma and Discrimination.
Since 2010, AIDS-related deaths in Thailand have declined by almost two-thirds (65%) while new infections fell by 58%. Last year an estimated 94% of people living with HIV in Thailand were aware of their status. Ninety-one percent of diagnosed people were on treatment and 97% of those on treatment achieved viral suppression.
The Deputy Government Spokesperson added that UNAIDS praised Thailand as a trailblazer for integrating HIV services into the Universal Health Coverage scheme. As host of the 51st UNAIDS PCB, Thailand has so many lessons to share from its AIDS response with representatives of other 22 UNAIDS member countries, supporting agencies, civil society, and NGOs, as well as HIV-related organizations from all over the world who will be attending the meeting.
According to the Deputy Government Spokesperson, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals.