Hiv As An Epidemic In India

[ebula 0]

India is now second in the world in terms of number of HIV positive people.
The news article below describes how fast it is spreading across several poor states in India.

Source:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/article...205,curpg-1.cms

It says:

Bihar is one of the poorest states in India and hence among the biggest suppliers of migrant labourers. Recent surveys show that the HIV prevalence rate in Bihar is about five times higher than what was believed to be and eight populous districts in the state are in the grip of what experts are calling an HIV epidemic. Until now, the Bihar government went by the National Aids Control Organisation’s prevalence rate of 0.13%. But two surveys conducted by the Bihar State Aids Control Society (BSACS) in all 38 districts in July 2005 and December 2005 have found the rate to be 0.53%. All those detected HIV+ are in the age group of 25 to 45 years. The new figures are alarming not just for the state itself. Whether it's seasonal farm hands for Punjab or construction workers for the skyscrapers in Mumbai and Delhi or new suburbs of Kolkata, daily wagers come mostly from Bihar or adjoining districts of UP. Bihar State health secretary Deepak Kumar told The Times of India : "Our prevalence rates compare with some of the other high-risk states in the country. Till now, everybody thought that AIDS was not a problem in Bihar. We plan to concentrate on the high-prevalence districts to spread greater awareness."
Expressing fear that the state was on the brink of an epidemic, a senior BSACS official said: "The rate at which the infection is spreading, very soon, it may cross the 1% prevalence rate."

[BuffaloHelp 24]

I began my AIDS awareness march at the age of 15 after accidently attending Washing D.C. AIDS quilt exhibition. I can't count the times I've donated, volunteered and protested for AIDS research and funds to educate the people of United States to come to understand what is AIDS and its tremendous grip on the society. That began 17 years ago and we are still marching for awareness and protest against AIDS in the United States. Even when self-proclaimed well educated--viewed from other worlds as the great opportunity country--cannot even begin to understand the simplest way to prevent the transmit of STD, I don't know what other countries that are not as affluent as the United States have any chance...? The future of mankind looks bleak.

[Yratorm, LightMage 0]

Hmm, around five to six years ago homosexuality was pretty common among the middle income groups in india (well, from what I read in some articles in the papers - no offense to anyone, I'm just repeating the results of studies conducted in india - they could well be wrong).The studies stated that for many indian men the first sexual experience was either with another man or with a sex-worker, and that many men at the time resisted the use of condoms.Times have changed since then, with more indian women experimenting with sex and the use of condoms almost universal among the middle income groups.However, the poorest section of the population STILL visit sex-workers and use no protection, thus contracting the disease. The tragic part is that they then go home and engage in unprotected sex with their wives, transferring the disease to them, and perhaps to their children. Often they are completely unaware that they even have the disease.There are many organizations desperately trying to combat this, but the sheer size of india's low-income population affects the success of their efforts.Education and awareness are the key-notes to combating such an epidemic, but to reach out to india's millions is no easy task, nor is it cheap. And india is a poor country, unable to bear the expenses of an extensive program. Worse, richer countries sending in funds is not necessarily an answer, as corruption is rampant in the east, and the chances of those funds actually accomplishing their objective are low - it's far more likely that the money will find it's way into private accounts.The best thing I can think of that has any chance of success is for interested groups in the west to link up with groups fighting the disease in india, and if they do send funds over to help pay for educational and awareness programs, that they also send representatives over with those funds to help oversee spending of the money, so that it doesn't find it's way into private accounts.Also, there ARE many honest folk in the east, but one has to locate them and put THEM in charge of things, or one risks just making some selfish man rich, rather than accomplishing anything worthwhile.

[kraizii88z 0]

Pretty soon HIV is going to become an unstoppable pandemic if we don't help the people who need to be helped, today. What will become of the world, if every single person has to live with HIV, then die from it? Already, so many people are doing so...Only the wealithest can afford to be treated. It's sickening, it's like saying the richest people are more important than those without.

[velma 6]

I dont mean to hurt anyone's sentiments with my post right now but AIDS is a huge problem in India for lots of reasons. What I am writing below is all from various papers so please dont lynch me at the end of this ;)The problem is that most of India is unaware of sexual education of any kind because of ethical and sentimental reasons so this leaves gaps in the basic awareness about sex and S.T.D's and this is a problem all over the world.People indulge in multiple partners without condoms. Recently on a News channel, The news team were asking rural women about condoms and this is what was recordedWomen did not know what they were and why they were used, Some thought that If the husband does not want to use it then they should not object, Others thought other types of contraceptives were effective.It is sad to see that women become the target and then are treated very cruelly, A woman was thrown out of her home for she had AIDS even though she got it from her husband and then she was burnt to death by her family coz of the shame caused. I'll try to get the link....Sometimes the man feels shy of buying and using them so they are ignored. But thankfully India is fighting against the disease strongly by providing free treatment and protection for pregnant women and the women who are thrown out of their homes are being well taken care of.The idea I liked best was that all the medical centers and medications were all being advertised on the radio. I mean It was explained to them that it would all be anonymous and condoms are being distributed at government hospitals. Condom Vending machines have been placed so that people dont feel shy of buying them.CHEERS TO INDIA for fighting. ;)I did not mean to hurt anybodys feelings so please dont judge me by this article

[shddgfgc 0]

Great to hear things bout HIV being fought by many. Being an indian i am proud that we are striving to contain the spread this deadly infection
Mind u Hiv is a virus which infects and AIDS is a resultant syndrome(not a disease). There are a few other things i wud like to share.

Like in 2007, following the first survey of HIV among the general population, UNAIDS and NACO agreed on a new estimate – between 2 million and 3.6 million people living with HIV. The figure was confirmed to be 2.4 million in 2008. This puts India behind South Africa and Nigeria in numbers living with HIV.
In terms of AIDS cases, the most recent estimate comes from August 2006, at which stage the total number of AIDS cases reported to NACO was 124,995. Of this number, 29% were women, and 36% were under the age of 30. These figures are not accurate reflections of the actual situation though, as large numbers of AIDS cases go unreported.Overall, around 0.3% of India’s population is living with HIV.

While this may seem a low rate, India’s population is vast, so the actual number of people living with HIV is remarkably high. There are so many people living in India that a mere 0.1% increase in HIV prevalence would increase the estimated number of people living with HIV by over half a million.

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