Poor policy, tasteless joke

One is efavirenz (Stocrin), a drug from the Merck pharmaceutical giant to treat HIV/Aids patients.

Needless to say, if the government reverses what the previous government did, many poor patients will suffer as the drug would not be as cheap as expected. If the drug were produced locally, the price would drop by almost two-thirds.

Yet newly appointed Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsap announced on his first day in office that he would revise the policy on compulsory licensing, saying that his predecessor had implemented it without consulting the Commerce Ministry and other agencies, which had resulted in much confusion and trouble.

The issue will be considered by the Cabinet, amid damaging reports about Chaiya's comments.

It was reported by some newspapers that when asked if this reversal would hurt HIV/Aids patients, Chaiya quipped: "If I were them, I would instead swallow 'dok mai chan'."

Some reporters said that they couldn't quite catch Chaiya when he said that. But if he did, Chaiya is stepping on a landmine.

Thais know that dok mai chan is a fragrant wood placed at the site of a cremation. If Chaiya really mentioned that word, it meant he was suggesting that HIV/Aids patients accept their cruel destiny.

There is an unofficial investigation to find out whether Chaiya actually said this. If he did, HIV/Aids patients everywhere would be more than ready to stage a huge attack on him for his merciless joke - aside from his attempts to revise a crucial policy to save lives.

achara_d@nationgroup.com

The Nation