Know the Condom King of Thailand, Mechai Viravaidya

Bangkok: Mechai Viravaidya is famous in Thailand, a national hero in the war against AIDS. He has led one of the world's most successful campaigns against HIV infections. Viravaidya was born in Thailand to a Scottish mother and a Thai father both of whom were doctors. He is one of four children, with his younger brother, Sunya, the founder of the Pattaya International Hospital and one of his two sisters, Sumalee, was formerly a journalist in Bangkok. As of now, he is married to Thanphuying Putrie Viravaidya. Mechai also has two grandchildren, Mek and Mok, who both sponsor a village in Northeastern Thailand through the Village Development Partnership. In the mid-1960s he returned to Thailand and started to work in family planning, emphasizing condoms and came to be known as the "Condom King." In 1973, he left government and founded a non-profit service organization, the Population and Community Development Association (PDA), to continue the work to improve the lives of the rural poor. From the streets, to the bars, to the brothels, wherever you looked, there was the Condom King, handing out prophylactics and advice to anyone who would listen. He tried to break the taboo surrounding AIDS from the very start, by making his education campaign fun. Among other things, he held condom blowing contests for school children, encouraged taxi cab drivers to hand out condoms to their customers, and founded a restaurant chain called Cabbages and Condoms where condoms, rather than mints or fortune cookies, are given to customers together with the bill. This is one of several places in Bangkok where poor women can receive pregnancy termination, a practice which is legal in the country per Section 305 of the Thailand penal code, but often perceived as illegal. The clinic is permitted by the authorities due to the dangers of unsafe abortion by Thai women because of "economic difficulties". Mechai served as deputy minister of industry from 1985 to 1986 under Prime Minister Prem Tinsulanonda. He served as senator from 1987 until 1991. During this time AIDS appeared in Thailand, and he increased his efforts to promote sexual-safety awareness. A military coup in 1991 installed Prime Minister Anand Panyarachun who then appointed Mechai minister for tourism, information and AIDS. He was able to start a large and quite successful AIDS education campaign and served until 1992. For his efforts in various development endeavors, Mechai Viravaidya has been acclaimed with numerous awards, recognition, and honorary doctoral degrees as well as the United Nations Gold Peace Medal (1981), the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service (1994), one of Asia week's “20 Great Asians” (1995), the United Nations Population Award (1997), and one of TIME Magazine's “Asian Heroes” (2006). Mechai and PDA have been the recipient of the Bill and Melinda Gates Award for Global Health in 2007, the Skoll Awardees for Social Entrepreneurship in 2008, and the Prince Mahidol Award for Public Health in 2009.