World Bank to provide Thailand with $750,000 for HIV/AIDS programs

The World Bank plans to provide Thailand with a $750,000, three-year grant aimed at providing HIV-positive people with increased access to antiretroviral drugs, Viroj Tangcharoensathien, program director for international health policy at the country's Ministry of Public Health, said recently, Thailand's Nation reports.

More than 130,000 HIV-positive people in Thailand need access to antiretrovirals, and the number is increasing annually, according to the Nation.

Under the grant partnership, the bank will help address funding issues associated with the country's universal health care system, Viroj said.

"We can't rely on the ministry's budget allocation alone," Viroj said, adding that the partnership will seek other resources for health services.

In addition, the project will provide training for nurses and doctors in an effort to overcome the shortage of health care personnel in the country, health ministry senior adviser Suwit Wibulpol-prasert said.

The collaboration is a "step forward to sustainable development in this field and improving the country's health care," Suwit said.

A separate partnership between the Thailand Center of Excellence for Life Sciences and the World Health Organization will aim to standardize clinical research into tropical diseases, the Nation reports.

The partnership will focus on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and dengue fever (Nation, 2/6).