HIV/AIDS in Bangladesh
HIV/AIDS epidemic is described as the worst difficulty in the history of health. In fact, human beings have been having great problems since time immemorial but there had never been the worst complexity like AIDS. HIV/AIDS is similar to war but it is worse than war in that when armies fight, it is mostly the men who are killed but HIV/AIDS kills women and children. HIV/AIDS kills people in the prime of their life. HIV/AIDS has no existing cure but there are several ways it can effectively be controlled. After all, common adage has it that prevention is better than cure.
Bangladesh is a Muslim countries, Sex is every where not permitted except 15 brothels in Bangladesh, Female Commercial Sex Workers in Bangladesh are generally adolescent and they are more vulnerable to infection as their low status makes them less able to negotiate the use of HIV/AIDS or STDs/STI prevention methods e.g. condoms, also the young age makes them more biologically vulnerable. The destiny of CSWs, in relation to their vulnerability to HIV infection, depends mostly upon safe sex behaviors, with the use of condoms.
With less than 0.1 percent of the population estimated to be HIV-positive, Bangladesh is a low HIV-prevalence country.
Prevalence
The country faces a concentrated epidemic, and its very low HIV-prevalence rate is partly due to prevention efforts, focusing on men who have sex with men, female sex workers, and intravenous drug users. Four years before the disease’s 1989 appearance in the country, the government implemented numerous prevention efforts targeting the above high-risk populations as well as migrant workers. Although these activities have helped keep the incidence of HIV down, the number of HIV-positive individuals has increased steadily since 1994 to approximately 7,500 people in 2005 according to the International Center for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh.
Preventive programs
HIV/AIDS epidemic is described as the worst difficulty in the history of health. In fact, human beings have been having great problems since time immemorial but there had never been the worst complexity like AIDS. HIV/AIDS is similar to war but it is worse than war in that when armies fight, it is mostly the men who are killed but HIV/AIDS kills women and children. HIV/AIDS kills people in the prime of their life. HIV/AIDS has no existing cure but there are several ways it can effectively be controlled. After all, common adage has it that prevention is better than cure.
Bangladesh is a Muslim countries, Sex is every where not permitted except 15 brothels in Bangladesh, Female Commercial Sex Workers in Bangladesh are generally adolescent and they are more vulnerable to infection as their low status makes them less able to negotiate the use of HIV/AIDS or STDs/STI prevention methods e.g. condoms, also the young age makes them more biologically vulnerable. The destiny of CSWs, in relation to their vulnerability to HIV infection, depends mostly upon safe sex behaviors, with the use of condoms.
With less than 0.1 percent of the population estimated to be HIV-positive, Bangladesh is a low HIV-prevalence country.
Prevalence
The country faces a concentrated epidemic, and its very low HIV-prevalence rate is partly due to prevention efforts, focusing on men who have sex with men, female sex workers, and intravenous drug users. Four years before the disease’s 1989 appearance in the country, the government implemented numerous prevention efforts targeting the above high-risk populations as well as migrant workers. Although these activities have helped keep the incidence of HIV down, the number of HIV-positive individuals has increased steadily since 1994 to approximately 7,500 people in 2005 according to the International Center for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh.
Preventive programs
HIV/AIDS prevention programs have successfully reached 71.6 percent of commercial sex workers (CSWs) in Bangladesh, according to the 2005 United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) Country Report. However, only 39.8 percent of sex workers reported using a condom with their most recent client, and just 23.4 percent both correctly identified ways of preventing the sexual transmission of HIV and rejected major misconceptions about HIV transmission. Other factors contributing to Bangladesh’s HIV/AIDS vulnerability include cross-border interaction with high-prevalence regions in Burma and northeast India, low condom use among the general population, and a general lack of knowledge about HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
National response
Bangladesh's HIV/AIDS prevention program started in 1985, when the Minister of Health and Family Welfare established the National AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases Program under the overall policy support of the National AIDS Council (NAC). The National AIDS/STD Program has set in place guidelines on key issues including testing, care, blood safety, sexually transmitted infections, and prevention among youth, women, migrant populations, and sex workers. In 2004, a six-year National Strategic Plan (2004–2010) was approved. The country’s HIV policies and strategies are based on other successful family planning programs in Bangladesh and include participation from schools, as well as religious and community organizations.
Since Bangladesh is still considered a low-prevalence country, no special focus has been placed on the general population – and women in particular. The major challenge in the country is the lack of urgency in dealing with HIV-related issues. HIV is not seen as posing an immediate threat, and as a result, there is continued focus mainly on high-risk groups. However, the response is beginning to acknowledge young people through life skills education and safer sex promotion, according to UNAIDS.
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