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Ginsa Aspoor
Musgrove
English 1302
08 May 2010
Brazil and Thailand “AIDS” Aid
The worldwide spread of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), a disease that
compromises a human’s immune system, has arrived to the level that the disease has proven
itself a worthy adversary. In some countries, such as Brazil and Thailand, the effort to thwart this
deadly and highly infectious disease has been more pronounced than the attempts of other
countries.
Brazil AIDS relief efforts are seen to be one of the most successful in the world. Free
antiviral drugs are available to all of those who live in the country. There is Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) treatment that can stop the spread of AIDS to an unsuspecting
party who may then, in turn, go ahead and spread the disease to other unsuspecting parties (HIV
is the virus that causes AIDS) (Pembrey). In addition to distributing free AIDS drugs to those in
the country suffering from this disease, Brazil is also very proactive when it comes to trying to
stop the spread of AIDS with several HIV treatment and HIV prevention programs. This comes
from an intense education program that began to fight HIV/AIDS in the middle of the 1980s
(Pembrey). Many of these programs and policies have proven to be well effective in battling the
disease. When it comes to HIV treatment in South America, “Brazil is the model of the continent
when it comes to tackling programs to contain the virus head on” (Pembrey).
Thailand AIDS relief efforts are also among one of the world’s best. In 2000, antiviral
drugs also started to be used to treat people living with HIV in Thailand (Kanabus). This therapy

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can prolong the lives of people living with HIV and delay the virus from progressing to AIDS. In
subsequent years the number of people accessing ARVs increased dramatically, significantly
reducing the number of people dying from AIDS. The government also ahs started a national
system to monitor its mother-to-child transmission of HIV program (Kanabus). By the end of
2007, national HIV prevalence was 1.4%, down from 1.8% in 2003 and more than 2% a decade
earlier (Thailand HIV/AIDS Profile).
Though these two countries have some of the best AIDS relief programs, these countries
would not be successful without the aid of the United States. USAID gives $19,200 dollars to
Brazil (Country Profile | USAID Brazil). The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
(PEPFAR) gives $5.5 million dollars to Thailand (“Partnership to Fight HIV/AIDS in
Thailand”). These countries, however, obviously do not take these funds given to them by the
United States for granted. They use these funds to the best of their abilities in order to provide
what is considered among the best AIDS relief on Earth.

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Works Cited
Country Profile | USAID Brazil. Home | USAID Brazil. Web. 07 May 2010.
Kanabus, Annabel, Jenni Fredriksson, and Gemma Spink. "HIV and AIDS in Thailand." AIDS &
HIV Information from the AIDS Charity AVERT. 04 Feb. 2010. Web. 07 May 2010.
"Partnership to Fight HIV/AIDS in Thailand." U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.
Web. 07 May 2010.
Pembrey, Graham. "HIV and AIDS in Brazil." AIDS & HIV Information from the AIDS Charity
AVERT. 20 Apr. 2010. Web. 07 May 2010. <http://www.avert.org/aids-brazil.htm>.
Thailand HIV/AIDS Profile. Rep. USAID, Sept. 2008. Web. 07 May 2010.