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male, commercial, floating, street, sex workers, aids, hiv, csws, idus, fsws,
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workers, gay, hijras, hermaphrodites, professional blood donors, heroin
smokers, hotel, brothel, street based commercial sex workers, casual sex
workers, so called sex workers, violence, exploitation, Rainbow Nari O
Shishu Kallyan Foundation, Mohammad Khairul Alam
Mohammad Khairul
Alam
Executive Director
Rainbow Nari O
Shishu Kallyan Foundation
24/3 M.C. Roy Lane
Dhaka-122
Bangladesh
rainbowngo@gmail.com
www.newsletter.com.bd
Tell: 880-2-8628908
Mobile: 01711344997
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HIV/AIDS Situation
of Bangladesh
Although
Bangladesh continues
to be a low prevalence area, it is surrounded by high prevalence countries
(High prevalence of HIV/AIDS in neighboring India). We however must not
adopt a complacent attitude in respect as our country has all the
determinants for an explosive outbreak of HIV/AIDS epidemic. Curses of
poverty, illiteracy, ignorance, proximity of Bangladesh to the so-called
'Golden Triangle' & high prevalence of STDs, make our country seriously
vulnerable. Drug use increases the HIV risk and can start very early-for
example, glue-sniffing by youngsters living or working on the streets. The
danger of becoming infected with HIV by sharing injecting equipment is well
known, and real. Unemployment, slum housing, family fragility, frequent
cross-border movement of people, lack of information, unsafe blood
transfusion, physical and sexual abuse-that create a "risk environment" of
violence for many young people in the region. In addition increased number
of migrant workers, unsafe practice in health service, unsafe sex practice
etc. movement of population, less use of condom, polygamy, homosexuality,
extra-marital relations, further increases the susceptibility.
In
Bangladesh, the
intravenous drug users (IDU) are the most potential carriers of HIV/AIDS
among the vulnerable groups in the country. The fourth round of national HIV
and behavioural surveillance report showed that the HIV infection rate among
the injection drug users (IDUs) is now 4 per cent, up from 2.5 per cent
previously which is just short of the 5 per cent mark of a concentrated
epidemic. About 93.4 per cent IDUs in central Bangladesh admitted that they
share same syringe while taking drugs. Even they use the same syringe
several times for taking drug.
UNCDP estimates that
between 500,000 and 1,00,000 people in
Bangladesh
are addicted to drugs. Although HIV rates are comparatively lower (one per
cent) among the sex workers but Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) rates
are still quite high (20 per cent) among this group.
On the other hand,
brothel-based female sex workers in
Bangladesh report the
highest turnover of clients than anywhere in
Asia
(an average of 18.8 clients per week).
Meanwhile, most of the
people of country are unaware about the deadly disease. The 1999-2000
Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey found that only 31 per cent of
married women and 50 per cent of newly married men had heard of AIDS. Over
90 per cent of rickshaw pullers could not identify a single method of HIV
prevention.
About 13,000 to 17,000
people are living with the incurable virus in
Bangladesh, according
to the UNAIDS report 2001.
According to the
National AIDS Committee and surveillance team members and experts, the rate
is quite alarming as it remains one per cent less than the highest five per
cent HIV epidemic index. The rate of HIV/AIDS remains less than one per cent
among the other vulnerable groups -- truckers, migrant workers, gay, hijras
(hermaphrodites), professional blood donors, heroin smokers and, hotel,
brothel and street based commercial sex workers.
Bangladesh is bordered
with India, the second largest HIV infected country in the world; the
country is therefore at high risk for the HIV epidemic, said Morten Giersing,
UNICEF's country representative.
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