The red ribbon
The Red Ribbon is the global symbol for solidarity with HIV-positive people and those living with AIDS. World AIDS Day, observed December 1 each year, is dedicated to raising awareness about the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. UNAIDS and the Who estimate that the total number of people living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has reached its highest level. As of 2006, there were an estimated 40.3 million people living with HIV. AIDS has killed more than 25 million people, making it one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history. Despite recent, improved access to antiretroviral treatment and care in many regions of the world, the AIDS epidemic claimed an estimated 3.1 million lives in 2005, of which more than half a million were children. The concept of a World AIDS Day originated at the 1988 World Summit of Ministers of Health on Programs for AIDS Prevention. Since then, it has been taken up by governments, international organisations and charities around the world. Two species of HIV infect humans: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is more virulent and more easily transmitted, and is the source of the majority of HIV infections throughout the world, while HIV-2 is less easily transmitted and is largely confined to West Africa. Both forms of the virus are believed to have originated in West-Central Africa, and jumped species (zoonosis) from primates to humans. HIV/AIDS infection in Bangladesh, so far, is within fair limit, but is appreciatively wide open to increase owing to prevalence of certain behavioural patterns and risk factors. A Who report on Bangladesh still considers it a low HIV/AIDS prevalent country. The Who estimates there are 13,000 HIV-positive people in the country, and HIV prevalence among the adult population is less than 0.01 percent. The swift rise of HIV/AIDS has been marked among the high-risk groups, including sex workers and injecting-drug users (IDUs). For example, in a pocket of central Bangladesh, the HIV prevalence rate among the IDUs jumped from 1.4 percent to 8.9 per cent in a three-year period. According to the latest information available with the National AIDS/STD Program (NASP), 874 cases of HIV/AIDS were confirmed as of December 31, 2006. According to National HIV Surveillance findings, the rate of HIV infection among the street-based sex workers in central Bangladesh is higher than that of the sex workers in other parts of South Asia. The majority of brothel-based sex workers report having sex without using condoms with some of their clients. In central Bangladesh, 9.7 percent and in south-eastern Bangladesh 12 percent female sex workers have been found to be infected with syphilis. The high rates of syphilis and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) confirms the low rate of condom use and the presence of other risky sexual behaviours that facilitate the spread of HIV infection. According to experts, the level of HIV infection among the IDUs poses a significant risk, as it can spread rapidly within the group and then, through their sexual partners and the latter's clients, among the general population. Another major concern is the significant number of IDUs who sell their blood professionally. Bangladesh relies on professional blood sellers to meet most of the blood transfusion needs of its people. Lack of proper knowledge on HIV/AIDS is another high risk factor. Only 17 percent of the most-at-risk groups have correct knowledge about prevention of the disease, but most people have misconceptions about it. A baseline survey of adolescents and young people (15-24 years) in 2005 found that only one out of three males in urban and one out of four in rural areas had correct knowledge on HIV/AIDS. Nearly 59 percent of married women and 42 percent of men of the age group, 15-54, years have no idea about how to avoid HIV. Therefore, it is imperative to give priority to education, poverty alleviation, and regular media coverage for disseminating knowledge about HIV/AIDS, and to offer sex education to the adolescents and the young under an academic program, suggested Mohammad Shafiqur Rahman and Mohammad Lutfor Rahman, researchers at the Dhaka University Institute of Statistical Research and Training. Meanwhile, an initiative has been taken to develop a multi-sector response to HIV/AIDS. Strategic action plans of the NASP set forth specific guidelines on a range of HIV issues, including testing, care, blood safety, and preventive measures for youth, women, migrant workers, and commercial sex workers. The government also prepared a National Strategic Plan for combating HIV/AIDS for the period 2004-2010 under the guidance of the National AIDS Council and with the involvement and support of different stakeholders. Infectious Diseases Hospital at Mohakhali provides treatment to HIV/AIDS patients, who can also get services at discount from the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University and the Armed Forces Pathology. The government also has established voluntary counselling and testing centres in every district and upazila. As many as 380 NGOs, AIDS service organisations, and civil society bodies have been implementing various programs/projects across the country to contain scourge. Let all of us in society be conscious of the red ribbon and act accordingly. Billy I. Ahmed is a Researcher.
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