THAILAND & AIDS

New York City

Thank you for your editorial "The AIDS Challenge" [Dec. 22] and for The Nation's attention to the global AIDS crisis. It is unfortunate, though, that you refer to Thailand as a model in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Thailand's achievements in HIV prevention early in its epidemic have long since been overshadowed by its brutal repression of injection drug users, a group at very high HIV risk. The Thai government's recent crackdowns in its "war on drugs" have resulted in more than 2,500 extrajudicial killings. The government has consistently vilified drug users and denied them the most basic human rights, making it nearly impossible to establish HIV prevention or AIDS care services for drug users. HIV is on the march among Thai drug users, who have little hope of humane treatment either for their addiction or for HIV-related illnesses. With regard to combating the AIDS challenge posed by injection drug use, Thailand is a model of worst practices.

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