Thailand

In Thailand in 1995 is it was estimated that the HIV prevalence rate among young men was 4%; by 2003 it was estimated to be only 1%.

The principal reason for this dramatic fall has been behavioural change in two respects:

• young men are buying commercial sex less frequently. It is estimated that the number of clients of sex workers fell by half in the late 1990s.
• Commercial sex workers report greatly increased use of condoms to over 90%.

Commercial sex work – the workers and their clients - has been a major target of national campaigns in Thailand.

The graph below shows the estimates of HIV infections to 2010. There is a big difference between a scenario with the behaviour of the early 1990s with that of the behaviour of the early 21st century.

Cambodia

The effect of behaviour change has been similar in Cambodia.

Cambodia is the country with the highest HIV prevalence rate in Asia, but one where it has fallen from 3.3% in 1998 to 2.6% in 2002.

Among commercial sex workers the rate has fallen from 42.6% to 28.8% over that period. There has been a rapid increase in condom use among all groups: from 43% in 1997 to 87% in 2003 for policemen and from 66% to 94% for brothel-based sex workers (see the graph below).