Perspectives of Policies on HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis Control in Korea

Choi, Bo Youl

Abstract

Since the early 1990s, Korea has made efforts to strengthen its National Communicable Disease Control System. In 2005, the Korea government developed various goals for communicable diseases control as a part of Health Plan 2010. The goals include 40 objectives, for the achievement of which a variety of programs and research subjects have been developed. These efforts will contribute to raising the preparedness for and response to the global threat of emerging and reemerging infectious diseases. The author reviewed the status, management goals and future tasks of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis in Korea. HIV/AIDS is an emerging infectious disease, and tuberculosis is an endemic disease in Korea. These two diseases are included in the UN Millennium Development Goal 6. The number of HIV/AIDS cases reported in Korea at the end of December 2005 was 3,829, of which 721 have died. The reported HIV prevalence rate among adults aged in 15-49 years is below 0.1%, and the infection level is categorized as "very low". However, the number of newly infected cases has been rising rapidly. The goal of HIV/AIDS control in Health Plan 2010 is to reduce the increasing rate of HIV/AIDS to 35% in 2010. Compared with the global Millennium Development Goal, which is to halt and reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015, we should set up long-term, high level goals, in addition to a comprehensive national plan for the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS. Korea first implemented a Nationwide Tuberculosis Control Program in the 1960s. By 2005, the prevalence of radiologically active tuberculosis had fallen to 0.35% which is one-fifteenth of the level of 1965. Nevertheless, the current prevalence of and death rate from tuberculosis continue to be much higher than those of advanced nations. Given this such a level of infection, the goals of tuberculosis control need to be specified, and an enhanced tuberculosis control program needs to be implemented to reduce the incidence of tuberculosis and associated death rates.