Graham McKerrow, HIV i-Base

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria has given US$209.7 million to Thailand to treat the rising number of cases of all three illnesses caused by an influx of migrant workers.

It is the largest donation given to an Asian country by the fund and will enable the government to distribute antiretrovirals and drugs to treat secondary infections such as TB.

Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan said: “We expect that all HIV-positive people that have shown symptoms will have access to the medicines within five years. This will in turn help to reduce the number of TB cases greatly.”

A recent growth in the number of migrants from neighbouring countries, together with drug-resistant strains of malaria and TB have led to soaring infection rates.