Conflict and war contributes to the spread of HIV/AIDS`

[Guest guest]

Conflict and war contributes to the spread of HIV/AIDS`

Chitra Ahanthem

Colombo, Aug 21: The high points of the 2nd day of the 8th

International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) were a

series of intense discussions and deliberations on issues around

universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support;

clinical advancements in programs; the legal standpoint on drug

pricing and patent rights; issues of testing and the marginalization

of certain population groups: injecting drug users (IDUs), sex

workers, people living with HIV/AIDS, men having sex with men,

transgenders etc.

But to the conference delegates from the north eastern states of

India who are no strangers to conflict, a session on " Conflict,

emergencies and HIV/AIDS " brought about " a better clarity and

understanding of the dynamics of drug use and HIV/AIDS, their twin

effects on marginalized communities and why things are the way they

are " .

According to this delegate from Nagaland, who also addressed the

gathering on `Glimpses of cross border HIV/AIDS in Indo-

Myanmar,` " Everywhere in the world today, there is now a realization

of the vicious circle: the larger group represses the smaller group

and armed groups come into the picture as a means of battling it out

which in turn leads to conflict. The race for arms drives the drug

trade and this leads to the larger implications of HIV/AIDS on the

domain of public health and development. "

Bijay Kumar, of ActionAID International while sharing his experiences

of working in Rwanda, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan

observed that, " The experiences of conflict in countries around the

world will be varied but the common strains that emerge out of this

discourse is that conflict breaks down the social fabric and security

systems. It breaks infrastructure and so makes the situation more

vulnerable to HIV/AIDS: basic health care and education systems break

down and the preventive measures that are needed cannot take off the

ground. "

Rendering a very emotional speech on her experiences as a survivor of

the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia, Dy Mani said, " I wanted to study

and go to college. I was 17 when the horrors of the Khmer Rouge

shattered my family. I lost family members, two of us were raped and

later I lost my leg while running through land mines. Now I am HIV

positive. The forces of conflict fuel the HIV/AIDS epidemic today " .

Joe , a researcher based in Australia, shared findings from a

study that he had undertaken that reflected how security forces in

conflict zones had been shown to be more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and

then spreading it further to the larger community. " Security forces

deployed in conflict zones resort to rape at times or go in for paid

sex while the women in these areas use sex to negotiate access to

food, medicines and other services that are otherwise not available

for them. There is an acknowledgement of the links between social and

political security and HIV/AIDS. The United Nations Security Council

stated that `HIV/AIDS is a threat to international peace and

security` in January 2000 which reflects how big an issue it is

becoming. "

Attending the session, K Ropari, project director of the Mizoram

State AIDS Control Society made an interesting insight saying, " Yes,

armed conflict makes the situation much more fragile and hard for

people who are marginalized to access services. In Mizoram we are

lucky that we do not have a major conflict situation as you face in

Manipur but we do face conflict about ideas and beliefs. It was hard

to convince community and Church leaders about the need for

acceptance of drug users but we have overcome that. I am sure my

colleagues in Manipur have a much more challenging task at hand but

hope that the civil society groups in the state do not remain mute

spectators to the needs of people affected by drug use and HIV/AIDS. "

The delegates from Manipur had only one refrain, " Amen! "

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