Editorial
The Aids concern
Ensure compliance with safety rules
The Commission on Aids in its report has shed light on different aspects of the killer ailment, which continues to be a major concern in many Asian countries, despite a number of programs being taken up by the governments to contain it. Though the situation is believed to be improving slowly, there are still five million HIV-positive in Asia at the moment.
The campaign for creating awareness among the most vulnerable groups in our context has not gained the desired momentum due to lack of community involvement. Aids, unfortunately, is still a social taboo, which makes it difficult to bring the patients or the newly infected people into the fold of medical treatment. Openness in all such matters is a precondition for combating HIV/Aids successfully.
We have to live with some unpleasant truths that cannot be altered overnight. Though the widespread and laudable social perception is that the best way to prevent Aids is to lead a morally sound, disciplined life based on the teachings of religion, the fact remains we have groups of vulnerable people whose presence cannot be ignored. For example, there are the sex workers and drug addicts badly exposed to HIV/Aids. As long as they cannot come out of their wretched existence, the recommendations on safe sex, preventing use of contaminated injection syringes and containing sexual aberrations acquire critical importance. These are elementary safety measures, which need to be recognised and practised. The Aids Commission has set the long-term goal of reducing new HIV infections substantially during the period 2008-2020 through adoption of the safety measures. Much will, however, depend on the responses from the governments and the organizations working at the national levels.
The prospects of Aids patients' sustaining life are better now with the availability of the anti-retroviral drug. So, it is necessary to let them know that they do not have to give up without a fight. Losing the battle psychologically before it is actually lost can have an extremely negative impact on the patients.
Bangladesh' vulnerability lies not only in low social awareness, but also in the proximity to and regular interaction with some of the worst affected countries. Formulation of a broad policy to deal with the risk factors has become imperative, along with launching of the awareness-building campaign to reduce incidence of HIV/Aids.
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