AIDS scare - Victims seem to be everywhere

March 8, 2007

A FAIR is not the place where people go to get themselves checked for

the HIV virus. Those who walked into the AIDS examination centre at

Anandpur Sahib during the Hola Mohalla festivities apparently did so

for a lark. Imagine the shock of the personnel belonging to the

Punjab State AIDS Control Society manning the camp when they found

that out of about 100 persons who visited them, as many as five were

HIV positive. The sense of surprise they felt must have been

overshadowed only by that of the victims themselves. Among them was a

young couple. The husband was a truck driver who probably introduced

the infection to his wife, the mother of a child. If so many HIV-

positive people can be found at just one fair in one day, just

imagine the number of people roaming all over Punjab, blissfully

unaware that they have contracted the dreaded virus! They are not

only putting their own life on the block but also that of many

others, including their family members.

Despite tall claims, the fight against the dreaded disease is not

quite as efficient as it ought to be. Most people are still not aware

of the gravity of the situation. Due to the stigma attached to it,

even those who should get themselves tested refuse to do so. They

carry it along the length and breadth of the state 0151 nay, the

country. India is fast becoming the AIDS capital of Asia.

The most vulnerable are truck drivers and drug addicts. Yet, the

services of sex workers along the highways are very much available

and the drugs are still injected through shared needles. Equally

worrisome is the increased incidence of HIV-AIDS in adolescents. The

ostrich-like approach has already played havoc. It is necessary to

open more and more channels where all sections can discuss sexuality-

related topics freely. Equally vital is adequate funding, access to

treatment, peer education and support system.

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