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Mohammad Khairul Alam
In 1987, Pakistan
was reported first HIV/AIDS case in Lahore. During the late 1980s and 1990s, it
became evident that an increasing number, mostly men, were becoming infected
with HIV while living or travelling abroad. Several reasons due to increase
HIV-AIDS in Pakistan, such as (i) lack of political will due to lack of advocacy
among the political leaders and the bureaucracy, (iii) inadequate data due to
limited surveillance (iv) lack of awareness in the rural areas (v) no clear
policy on care and support of affected individuals and the management of full
blown cases and (v) no proper training for all medical/paramedical faculties and
the non medical field workers. The majority of the program activities were
concentrated in the urban areas.
The Rainbow Nari O Shishu
Kallyan Foundation identified four major approaches in a groundbreaking study on
spread out HIV in
Asia. This study undertook by comparing of social-economic norm, family pattern,
economic dependency, cause of mounting sex industries, gender discrimination
status & global analysis fact. There are four factors that appear to play a
crucial role in HIV transmission in Asian countries: Injection/ intravenous drug
use (By sharing needle), female sex work (Due to lack of safe sex knowledge),
gender discrimination (which indirectly force females commercial or
non-commercial sex), Same sex/ homosexually/ Hijara (Due to lack of HIV/AIDS
information, because they act invisible in this society). Poverty & illiteracy
fueled it proportionally.
In Pakistan,
the intravenous drug users (IDU) are the most potential carriers of HIV/AIDS
among the vulnerable groups in the country, high HIV infection levels among
groups of IDUs could cross over into other populations, including male and
female sex workers. In Larkana, 8% of injecting drug users were HIV-infected in
2005, as were at least 6% in Faisalabad, Lahore, Sargodha and Sialkot, where a
majority of injecting drug users were either married or sexually active. In
Karachi, 26% of injecting drug users participating in a 2005 study were found to
be HIV-infected. The majority of infected drug users had one risk factor in
common: they used non-sterile injecting equipment. Even the most basic elements
of effective harm reduction are lacking. Only one half of the injecting drug
users taking part in a study in Karachi and Rawalpindi, for example, knew that
HIV could be transmitted through using unclean needles—and as many of them said
they had used non-sterile injecting equipment in the previous month.
Bangladesh is still
considered as a low HIV/AIDS prevalent country; by the way Bangladesh is passing
at a critical moment, the majority of AIDS cases in here are the result of
needle sharing. Of 500 injection drug users questioned in central Bangladesh
during the fourth national surveillance, 93.4 percent said they had shared
needles in last week. Providing clean needles is also considered important
because it decreases the spread of HIV from injection drug-users. It is also
important to bring a behavioural change among commercial sex workers (CSWs) by
promoting the use of condom.
In generally, Bangladeshi
women or girls are basically getting sexual experience through marriage and for
the most part, premarital sexual contact is mostly confined to their future
husband or lovers. Rainbow Nari O Shishu Kallyan Foundation found, sexual
behaviour among Bangladeshi women is changing. Adolescent girls may not remain
in the traditional sexual confinement of the previous generations and casual sex
among them is on the rise. This may encourage AIDS to acquire alarming
proportions in
Bangladesh.
After several investigate
on sex industries have identified more then 1,00,000 various category commercial
and non-commercial sex workers in Bangladesh who are most of
them illiterate. Some female brothel sex workers have an average of 20-25
clients per week, Female hotel sex worker meet an average of 44 clients in a
week, the highest number of clients in commercial sex than any other counties in
South-East Asian region. Moreover the residence sex workers and floating sex
workers are present in large number though the precise distribution and
prevalence is still unknown. By a study ‘Rainbow Nari O Shishu Kallyan
Foundation’ also found that a substantial proportion of some young and single
textile, garment workers, tea garden female workers, house key-per supplement
their low wages by occasional prostitution. Consensual sex or non-commercial sex
exists in rural societies, particularly when husbands are absent for a long
time.
The presence of significant
risk factors such as the very low use of condoms among vulnerable populations
including female sex workers, men who have sex with men, as well as the low use
of sterile syringes among injecting drug users in both countries. In addition
increased number of migrant workers, unsafe practice in health service, unsafe
sex practice etc. movement of population, less use of condom, polygamy,
homosexuality, extra-marital relations, further increases the susceptibility.
Commercial female sex
workers don’t use condom regularly. Fewer than one in five female sex
workers—and one in 20 of their male counterparts—in Karachi and Rawalpindi said
they had consistently used condoms during the previous month. In an earlier
study in Karachi, one in four sex workers could not recognize a condom. In
addition, a 2005 study has confirmed that HIV transmission is occurring within
the sexual networks of male and eunuch (hijra) sex workers in Karachi.
The study found 7% of the male sex workers and 2% of the hijras were
HIV-infected. In another study in Karachi, 4% of male sex workers and 2% of
hijras tested positive. Very high levels of other sexually transmitted
infections indicate widespread sexual risk-taking. In the latter study, 23% of
the male sex workers had syphilis and 36% had gonorrhoea, while among the
hijras, 62% had syphilis and 29% gonorrhoea. Indeed, only 4% of male sex
workers and less than 1% of the hijras said they used a condom the last
time they had sex with a man. Also of note is the finding that one in four of
the male sex workers said they also bought or sold sex to women. Such high-risk
behaviour must be addressed in order to limit the further spread of HIV in and
beyond those sexual networks.
HIV/AIDS is a three
dimensional disease. It spreads out by three major causes:- such as unconscious
or unsafe sexuality, blood exchange(needle) /transfusion for patients, infected
mother to child. HIV/AIDS direct by impact on the human body - it paralyze the
physical condition, psychological morbidity and destroy social value. It also
wipes out three things, such as it affects adults in their productive prime,
severely hampers economic growth of person, and hampers his family, at last by
rotation it destroys country’s progress. Every one can protect it by avoiding
risk behavioral sex (multi-partner sex, unsafe sex practice etc), by avoiding
injectable drug (needle sharing is a burning cause of it), by avoiding getting
blood without test. Nation wide programme is also needed to take three major
strategies:- top to bottom awareness programme of HIV/AIDS, gender
discrimination programme to ensure girls and women rights, poverty reduction
programme
tag: female, male,
commercial, floating, street, sex workers, aids, hiv, csws, idus, fsws, girls,
women, consensual, premarital, exmarital, sexuality, empowerment, gender,
education, prevention, dhaka, india, pakistan, bangladesh, adolescent, teen,
teenage, truck drivers. trafficking, epidemic, street girls, knowledge, young
people, discrimination, nonconsensual, coerced sex, sexual partners, safe sex,
sexually transmitted diseases, stds, stis, sexual abuse, forced sex, risky
sexual behaviour, business, multi partner sex, heterosexual, injection,
intravenous drugs users,
prostitution,
men who have sex with men, msm, harassment, sugar daddies, relationships,
condom, polygamy, homosexuality, extra marital, relations, truckers, migrant
workers, gay, hijras, hermaphrodites, professional blood donors, heroin smokers,
hotel, brothel, street based commercial sex workers, casual sex workers, so
called sex workers, violence, exploitation, Rainbow Nari O Shishu Kallyan
Foundation, Mohammad Khairul Alam |
