This piece was written in September 2006. The AIDS conference it mentionned was the one before that of 2008 where vulnerable groups where at last put under the spotlights. Names, places and minor details have been modified to protect people’s privacy.
Bedtime story
Wat, my neighbour has a new lodger, a 35-year old Thai from a village near Kantchanabury named Keaw. Keaw left his town 3 weeks ago ro come to Bangkok looking for a job. His dream job is to be a driver but he does not have the money needed …

Or the case of Thailand compulsory licensing vs. right wing pharmaceutical lobbyists
This article was written in May 2007, revised in June 2007 and minor edits were made on 17/11/08. I decided to republish it after my attention was drawn by the Wisdom of Whores to a recent opinion piece written by Roger Bate for the New York Times. In his latest article for the NYT, Bate conflates generic and counterfeit medicine finding another occasion to held high the flag of a sometimes unscrupulous pharmaceutical industry. The text below is a …

Miss Pink Competition 2006
© peripheries

In an article strangely entitled “Thailand’s lady-boys are in a class of their own, at last”, The Independent reports on the Bangkok Suan Dusit University where young male transgenders are allowed to wear make up and female uniform. It is this “at last” that is rather strange.
There is no question that Thai ladyboys deserve to be treated like any other human beings within the Thai society. In this regard Thailand is much more liberal than most western societies, though this liberalism is very much codified and …

Earlier in September, peripheries commented on HIV amongst people over 50 and the importance of not excluding them from VCT on the basis that they were too old.
In this week’s New York Times, Karen Barrow noted that “Today, because of antiretroviral therapy and an array of drugs to treat both symptoms and side effects, AIDS has become a chronic condition to be managed, at least in the developed world. No longer is the face of AIDS emaciated and covered with lesions; Americans with the disease are stronger and healthier, their …

The city-cum-state of Singapore is to implement an opt-out screening for HIV in its public hospitals. So far so good. Early detection means a better follow up, an early initiation of treatment, an opportunity to reduce further transmission, and an extended life expectancy.

“Cracked”
Tan Ngiap Heng

Many studies have found that VCT (Voluntary Counselling and Testing) is an effective strategy for facilitating the behaviour-changes necessary to an effective HIV prevention and for providing early access to care and support. But VCT is not very useful without access to treatment. This may explain …