ZONE:

It's no secret that Thailand faces a serious AIDS problem. According to Dr. Mongkol na Songkhla, about 984,000 Thais presently have Aids, and about 55,000 people carrying HIV begin to show symptoms each year. 29,000 others become infected with the virus.

The Third Annual Symposium on Pediatric AIDS in Thailand ended its 3-day run in Chiang Mai on Monday. The Symposium brought together experts from Thailand, France, and the US. As the name suggests, the symposium focused on keeping children HIV-negative, and the discussions looked at ways of keeping HIV-positive mothers from infecting their babies.

According to the Bangkok Post, current measures, which involve treating pregnant women, and then their newborns, with Zidovudine. Theoretically, this could reduce the rate of infection to 6%. But the Symposium also talked about another drug, Nevirapine, given just before birth, which can reduce the infection rate to 2%.

Still, in Thailand about 4,200 children contract HIV each year, and 33,000 children carry the virus.

Meanwhile, back at UN headquarters, former PM Anand Panyarachun addressed a special session on AIDS at the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia's annual meeting. Ten years ago, under Mr. Anand, Thailand became the first Asian nation to develop a comprehensive plan to prevent HIV transmission.