The Adventist Development and Relief Agency in Thailand is helping people learn about HIV/AIDS prevention strategies through a one-year project funded by the Japanese government.

The HIV/AIDS awareness and drug education project, which organizers say will reach nearly 42,000 people, also helps those with HIV/AIDS to receive micro-loans and income-generating activities.

“In addition to increasing awareness of HIV/AIDS, it’s also important that we decrease the stigmatization of HIV/AIDS by providing social and financial support for those who are already affected,” says Greg Young, country director for ADRA Thailand.

Factors that have contributed to the spread of HIV/AIDS to an estimated 1 million people in Thailand include lack of awareness about the impact of HIV/AIDS, illegal drugs, shared needles, and the sex industry. In 2001, the United Nations Children’s Fund report on the commercial sex industry exploitation of children estimated that in three years there was a 20 percent increase in the number of child prostitutes in Thailand.

The project is held in the Chiang Dao District of the Chiang Mai Province and will conclude in March 2003. Similar projects have been implemented in Chiang Mai Province since 1997.

Find additional information about ADRA at www.adra.org.