Editorial
Preventing spread of AIDS
Appropriate awareness needed
The current statistics on the incidence of AIDS in the country may not warrant any drastic measures right at this moment but there is no denying the fact that Bangladesh has all the potentials of turning out to be yet another country with high incidences of the deadly disease. With our neighbour India having 5.1 million cases, second only to South Africa, we have therefore every reason to be highly concerned. Added to this the level of awareness is also far from desirable. On the other hand we have a large number of labourers and low paid unskilled workers in various countries of the world staying for extended period of time away from their spouses and family. While they return home unknowingly some of them may also be carriers of the deadly disease. There are threats of the spread of the disease from within the country too. The number of floating sex workers particularly in the metropolitan cities is on the increase alongside the drug abusers who might use infected needles amongst themselves. Many hospitals and clinics in the country have no standard procedures for checking if the blood for transfusion is free from the deadly virus. We are, therefore, of the opinion that concerns expressed at a recently held round table discussion are not only timely but also deserve our serious attention. With our resources, proper planning and the will on the part of the Administration, we should be able to prevent any spread of the disease. For Bangladesh the right strategy would be going the preventive way rather than the curative one, simply for the fact that it is uncertain and the drugs are too expensive and certainly beyond the affordability of those who have the maximum vulnerability. It is already high time that we embarked on an aggressive awareness campaign collectively consisting people from amongst the civil society, the NGOs and the governmental authorities. We believe that given the will and sincerity of commitment, any spread of AIDS in Bangladesh is quite possible to contain.
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