Let's talk about safe sex: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

[Guest guest]

Let's talk about safe sex: Manmohan

Thursday December 1 2005 13:41 IST

Reuters

NEW DELHI: India, with the world's second largest number of HIV/AIDS

cases, must shed its inhibitions and start talking openly about safe

sex to protect itself against the epidemic, Prime Minister Manmohan

Singh said on Thursday.

It was vital to educate young men and women about how to lead

a " healthy and safe sexual life " , Singh told hundreds of young

political leaders on World AIDS Day.

" This is particularly important given our traditional inhibitions

about discussing such matters within our families and among our

colleagues, quite apart from doing so in public, " he said.

" This, quite obviously, has to change if we are to succeed in

creating awareness of the hazards of unsafe sexual practices. "

India says it has 5.13 million people living with HIV/AIDS, the

second largest number after South Africa, but voluntary agencies and

UNAIDS, the UN's anti-AIDS agency, say the figure is too low and

many cases go unreported.

Many people, particularly in rural areas, have strongly conservative

views about sexual practices and public discussion on safe sex is

difficult to conduct.

Last month, Khushboo, popular south Indian actress was targeted for

telling Indian men not to expect their brides to be virgins.

But Singh said India needs to loosen up as HIV, if not dealt with

robustly and openly could threaten its future.

" You should fully comprehend the need to educate young men and women

about the modes of transmission, " said the soft-spoken Singh,

wearing his trademark blue turban.

He also said not enough was being done to provide anti-retroviral

treatment to HIV-positive people. India missed its target of

providing anti-retroviral drugs to 100,000 people by mid-2004. Just

15,000 people are receiving the drugs.

" This is not enough. Prices must come down further to make these

drugs more affordable and accessible to all. "

Drugs can cost around 1,300 rupees a month, out of reach for many

Indians.

Singh said millions of young Indians were at risk.

" Like all epidemics, AIDS does not discriminate among its victims

but the young are often the highest risk segment. "

" We must focus on this threat to our future and survival. "

The CIA has forecast that India could have 20 million HIV-positive

people by 2010.

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Full Text of PM's speech on World AIDS Day

Thursday December 1 2005 14:27 IST, IANS

NEW DELHI: Following is the text of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's

speech at the National Youth Leaders Convention on HIV/AIDS here

Thursday, where he said the war against the epidemic must be an

integral part of all government departments with a focus on outcomes

and not just fiscal outlays.

" I am truly delighted to participate again in this National

Convention on HIV/AIDS at which we have assembled youth leaders from

all parts of our country. Yours is a forum, which can be a great

force for effective work in the war against this deadly disease that

HIV/AIDS has turned out to be. Last year when I addressed this youth

parliament, as it has come to be called, I gave you three messages:

First, I said, our youth leaders must lead by example and lead from

the front. You must be the agent of change that you seek in others.

Second, I said, inform your friends and empower them to make safe

choices. Act locally to create a global impact!

Third, I asked you to promise to uphold the dignity of every person

living with HIV in our country by love, affection, and social

support.

These messages, I believe, ought to remain your guiding principles

in the ongoing campaign against HIV/AIDS. Our Government is

committed to providing leadership to the National AIDS Control

efforts. We have made this commitment in various International

Declarations and in our National Common Minimum Programme. For

translating this commitment to reality we need to think boldly and

set the bar far higher.

To start with, I do believe that this programme needs to get out of

the narrow confines of the health department. It must become an

integral part of all Governments departments. In fact, the National

AIDS Control programme should be mainstreamed into the Ministry of

Health and Family Welfare as an integral part of the National Rural

Health Mission and implemented efficiently through the available

public health network.

If we do so, we could upscale our efforts to the desired levels

within a minimum period of time and we have no time to waste. We

need to act to effectively check the further spread of this disease

here and right now. This then should be our first priority.

You should fully comprehend the need to educate our young people

about the modes of transmission of this deadly disease. Leading a

healthy and safe sexual life is one of the commitments we must all

make. This is particularly important given our traditional

inhibitions about discussing such matters within our families and

among our colleagues, quite apart from doing so in public.

This, quite obviously, has to change, if we are to succeed in this

war against HIV/AIDS, if we are to succeed in creating awareness of

the hazards of unsafe sexual practices. Similarly, you must also

spread awareness about public health and hygiene, including in the

use of razors, syringes and during processes of blood transfusions.

On the other hand, with the rapid march of technology, the cost of

detecting HIV/AIDS, as well as the medication required to keep the

disease under control, are going down. But pace is not good enough.

Prices must come down further to make these drugs more affordable

and accessible to all.

We must also sensitise our pharmaceutical industry to expand basic

research to produce low cost drugs and vaccines. We need to

strengthen our delivery systems to provide treatment for this

disease even while minimizing drug resistance.

It is, therefore, our goal to ensure that in the next two years our

health delivery system will be restructured to provide a

comprehensive package of services to the community and to HIV

infected persons. This package of services must consist of

preventive services, promotional measures as well as the

interventions for counselling and treatment.

Simultaneously, a massive capacity building, awareness and

counselling campaign should be launched all over the country with

the help of public health professionals.

But it is also true that such a campaign cannot succeed if we leave

it solely to government and its agencies. Non-governmental

organizations, civil society, the private sector, religious leaders,

they must all play a prominent role, in coordination with Government

and youth leaders such as yourselves.

The private corporate sector must be galvanized effectively and made

to adopt programmes in a serious and methodological manner covering

their entire labour force. It must work to integrate programme

activities in the workplace.

One reason why I am focusing on the need for us to take up the

challenge of AIDS in right earnest is the simple logic of

demography. India is today at the threshold of a major demographic

transition with the age profile of our population favouring the

youth. Our comparative advantage is increasingly a cheap and skilled

labour force and a rising savings rate. But what if we begin to lose

our youth to this disease?

This will have serious consequences for our society, our economy,

and indeed, our entire Indian polity. Like all epidemics, AIDS does

not discriminate among its victims, but the youth are often the

highest risk segment. Consequently, we must focus on this threat to

our survival, threat to our future.

Reaching out on a scale and in a manner indicated would require us

all to go beyond sloganeering to mobilize the various segments of

society. Youth leaders, members of the media and social activists

can contribute a great deal to shaping public opinion, attitudes and

behaviour through their work and their own lifestyles.

Consequently, you have a special responsibility to support the

programme by stimulating responsible discussion on sensitive issues -

less to sensationalize and more to educate and build and mobilise

public opinion in the fight against AIDS. You must also convey the

message of hope and compassion that is vital for our society to

sensitively handle our war against this disease.

To take the message to every home in our country, we must draw upon

the local bodies. The 73rd and 74th Amendment of the Constitution of

India that Rajiv Gandhi introduced with such great foresight needs

to be carefully exploited to achieve these goals.

We must utilize the gram panchayat members and the members of

municipalities. At the State level, concerted efforts for capacity

building of the Health Staff and Anganwadi Workers need to be put in

place in order to ensure widespread dissemination and identification

of the problem.

Your efforts should be to create capacities in every village, every

town, and every city to become HIV/AIDS free. It is these bodies

that can help identify those who need counselling, those who are

most vulnerable, and those who are in need of assistance.

I look forward to a year of intense engagement with all sections of

our society. Let us not solely focus on inadequacies, but on what we

can do, building on whatever we have in the first instance. Our

focus should be on outcomes, not just on outlays.

The HIV/AIDS control programme is a major management challenge,

which needs fresh ideas, a bold vision and an effective strategy to

mobilise the vast latent potential of civil society in our war

against HIV/AIDS. I have no doubt that the young and determined

faces I see before me will change the course of our war against

HIV/AIDS.

We are committed to, we are determined to prevail and to overcome. I

am certain that you will unleash the vast latent energy of our youth

to overcome and to triumph over the constraints that have inhibited

us so far in the past. I wish you well in your endeavours. "