U.S. Army, Thai Researchers Working Together to Battle Diseases

The Voice of America recently highlighted the efforts of the Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences (AFRIMS) in Bangkok, Thailand. AFRIMS is staffed by U.S. Army personnel as a Special Foreign Activity of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, and Royal Thai Army counterparts. Their mission is to conduct research on important endemic diseases in the U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) area of responsibility, including dengue, HIV, malaria, scrub typhus, and others.

The institute’s important work is mutually beneficial to U.S. and Thai interests. It supports the USPACOM mission of fostering a secure and stable environment by helping mitigate humanitarian crises such as pandemic illness.

As part of a joint Royal Thai Army institute within the Thai Ministry of Defense, the U.S. Army component of AFRIMS plays a significant relationship-building role while also contributing to capacity building. In addition to its research, the Army component assists with training, conducts classes and contributes faculty to the Royal Thai Armed Forces Regional Medical Training Center, most notably in the areas of HIV/AIDS and pandemic and avian influenza.