Bangladesh gradually heading towards HIV/AIDS epidemic’

[Guest guest]

Bangladesh gradually heading towards HIV/AIDS epidemic'

Thursday December 23 2004 09:24:32 AM BDT

Recent data show that Bangladesh is gradually heading towards a

HIV/AIDS epidemic. This was disclosed at a workshop for " Key

Stakeholders on HIV Risk Reduction " jointly organised by South-South

Center and Family Health International (FHI) in the city yesterday.

Inaugurating the workshop, Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr.

Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain said it was matter of great concern that

Bangladesh is in a very vulnerable position to this epidemic being

surrounded by two heavily HIV-infected neighbouring countries of

India and Myanmar.

Bangladesh is still considered to be a low prevalence country with

less than 1 per cent HIV prevalence though HIV infection among

injecting drugs users (IDUs) has gone up from 1.8 per cent to 4 per

cent in 2004. In a certain areas in central Bangladesh, it has gone

up to 8.9 per cent, which has exceeded the concentrated level of 5

per cent beyond which it is difficult to prevent the spread of the

disease, he said quoting from National HIV and Behavioural

Surveillance Study.

Different sources indicate that there are 4.6 million drug users in

Bangladesh, among whom 20,000 are IDUs. There are more than 3000

IDUs in Dhaka city living on the streets most of whom are poor,

homeless, and engaged in high risk behaviour such as sharing of

infected needles and syringes, unprotected sex which further enhance

the spread of HIV infection, he added.

The government is fully aware of the situation and has taken

different stringent measures and formulated National Policy on

HIV/AIDS and STD related issues and a Strategic Plan for the

National AIDS Programme. It has also formed National AIDS Committee

(NAC) headed by Health Minister being supported by a Technical

Committee headed by an eminent medical scientist. It has also

established a National AIDS Programme under the Director General,

Health Services for prevention and control of HIV/AIDS and also to

coordinate the overall national response and provide technical and

operational support to all the stakeholders including NGOs, he said.

The workshop was preceded by a series of advocacy-cum-sensitisation

workshops at divisional levels. With the opinions expressed in these

workshops, South–South Center and FHI are going to submit an action

plan to the Ministry of Health and Welfare to scrutinise and

implement.

Maj Gen. (Retd.) ASM Matiur Rahman, Chairman, Technical Committee of

NAC, Mr. Jamaluddin Ahmed, Director, South-South Center, Md.

Kamaluddin Ahmed, Director General, Department of Narcotics Control,

among others, participated in the workshop.

http://www.bangladesh-web.com/news/view.php?hidDate=2004-12-

23 & hidType=NAT & hidRecord=0000000000000000030325