Staff Correspondent
Number of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) bearers may reach a threat-level abruptly as around 6.5 million people are drug users as well as the number is rising in the country alarmingly while 0.4 per cent of total injecting drug users (IDU) are infected with HIV.
Around 15,000-25,000 people are infected with HIV and a good number of people are at high risk as the number of commercial sex workers has been mounting indiscriminately in and around the city. Besides, Bangladesh is also at risk zone due to neighbouring country India containing around 51 lakhs HIV infected people.
Besides, at least 15,000 people are being infected with HIV around the globe everyday and half of them are between the ages of 15 to 24 and more than 22 million have already died of AIDS.
According to sources, 33 per cent of IDU, 70 per cent rickshaw pullers and 76 per cent truck drivers in Bangladesh visit female sex workers and wives at home. The behaviour of high risk groups like male and female sex workers and their clients, injecting drug users, professional blood donors, homosexuality hermaphrodite etc in Bangladesh is critical and extreme. In the slum of the city many housewives are forced to develop unethical sexual relation with male and are sometimes raped in absence of husbands. On the other hand, millions of countrymen go abroad for different purposes like service, education and tourism and many of them engage in sex during this period. Moreover, 33 million of 15 to 24 years age-group is totally in dark and not aware about HIV.
Experts in the field of AIDS treatment are apprehending that the numbers of AIDS infected people will increase alarmingly in at least four places in the country Khulna, Noakhali, Sylhet and Chittagong.
It may be mentioned that city’s different areas like Manik Mia avenue, Farmgate area, Chandrima uddhan, Sohrawardi uddhan, infront of Jonaki cenema hall at Kakrail area, Fulbaria bus stand area become risky where female sex workers wait for clients for hours. Most of their clients are rickshaw pullers, drug users and low income people. City’s different hotels and other places are also safe places for illegal sex.
Talking to this correspondent, an officer of a NGO who works on AIDS said that the number of AIDS infected people had been increasing gradually and it can rise abruptly as the issue is mostly related to drug using and unawareness. A large number of people do not know what AIDS is. So the government will have to take effective measures to increase AIDS awareness in order to keep it under control. Otherwise, if the condition goes out of control once, the country will face a critical debacle,” he added.
About treatment facilities for AIDS, Director General of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) said that awareness is the main preventive measure to check AIDS and treatment for AIDS infected people in Bangladesh is the same as in America. There is no full curable treatment in the world for AIDS infected. “A team is always working throughout the country to build up awareness among the people about AIDS,” he said.
Courtesy: thebangladeshtoday.com
