AIDS is a global epidemic. According to the 2007 estimates, 33 million people were affected and living with HIV/AIDS around the world. And approximately 2.5 million people were affected with HIV in India in 2006 making it the third largest in the world and the largest in Asia. According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), AIDS is one of the biggest killers in recorded history killing more than 25 million people between 1981 and 2007. In 2007 alone, around 2 million lost their lives to this deadly disease, including approximately 270,000 children. Today, it is a globally accepted fact that the keys to the prevention of HIV/AIDS not only depends on advanced treatment and care but equally on spreading improved awareness on the disease, dispel the myths surrounding it, stringent laws for the removal of discrimination and social stigmas that make some groups more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS, and coordinated efforts and sharing of knowledge. And to reiterate this commitment, the World AIDS Day is observed every year on December 1. This Day is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS caused by the HIV infection. On this day, volunteers, welfare organisations and governments across the world hold rallies, meetings, and public awareness campaigns on HIV/AIDS, its treatment, care and dispel the myths associated with it and stress the need for a coordinated public support for HIV infected people, children in particular.
How it all began!
World AIDS Day was the brainchild of James W. Bunn and Thomas Netter, two public information officers for the Global Programme on AIDS (now UNAIDS) at the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Geneva. The duo conceived the idea in 1987 to dedicate a day to spread the awareness of the disease, treatment, care and the ways to prevent it. Thus the first World AIDS Day was observed on December 1, 1988 and from then on, on the same day every year.
Soon in 1996, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) became operational and took over the World AIDS Day programme. In the following year, UNAIDS revamped the programme and created the round-the-year World AIDS campaign to focus on communications, prevention and education of HIV/AIDS. In 2004, the World AIDS campaign became an independent organisation.
Theme and sub-theme for World AIDS Day
Since its inception in 2004, the UNAIDS has chosen annual themes and yearly sub-themes for World AIDS Day ever year in consultation with other global health organisations. Earlier, the World AIDS Campaign and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) had announced that for the World AIDS Days from 2005 through 2010, the broad theme will be "Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise." And the sub theme for this year’s World AIDS Day on December 1, 2009 is “Universal Access and Human Rights.”
The theme has been chosen to address and call to countries to uphold the basic human rights of providing access to prevention, treatment, care and support, and remove the discrimination and punitive laws against those living with HIV like women and marginalized groups. Countries are also urged to realise the many commitments they made to protect human rights in the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS (2001) and the Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS (2006).
According to UNAIDS, some 84 countries across the world have laws and policies that actually hinder the effective prevention, treatment, care and support for HIV affected and vulnerable populations. And even today some 59 countries have laws that restrict the entry, stay and residence of people living with HIV, which is a clear case of discrimination against them in their freedom of movement and right to work.
AIDS in India – Statistics are alarming
According to National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), in India, the number of people affected with AIDS is the third largest in the world, and remains the largest in Asia. In 2006 approximately 2.5 million people in India were living with HIV. Out of this, 39 percent were women and 3.8 percent children. Sexual route is predominantly the transmission route for HIV in India with 87.4 percent of the HIV affected population affected through sex related activities. The other routes of HIV transmission includes peri-natal at 4.7 percent, unsafe blood and blood products at 1.7 percent, infected needles and syringes at 1.8 percent and unspecified and other routes of transmission at 4.1 percent.
AIDS affecting the cream of the society
The adult national HIV prevalence was 0.36% among the general population. And among high risk groups it is obviously higher. NACO statistics say that among Injecting Drug Users (IDUs), it is as high as 8.71 percent, while it is 5.69 percent and 5.38 percent among Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) and Female Sex Workers (FSWs), respectively.
More men are HIV positive than women. For every 100 people living with HIV and AIDS, 61 are men and 39 women. While a whopping 88.7 percent of all infections are prevalent in the 15-49 age group that is people in the prime of their working life, young people too are at greater risk, with the under-15 category accounting for 3.8 percent of all HIV infections.
Social stigmas, biological reasons make women more vulnerable to HIV
Women account for almost 1 million of the 2.5 million HIV affected people in India. Social stigmas like early marriage, sexual abuse and violence and the lack of equal rights to women in families, and the lack of information and knowledge about sexual related diseases is still widely prevalent in India. The choice to abstain from sex or safe sex is still far from reality. This is worse in the case of women sex workers who are stigmatised or marginalised. Poor access to quality health services have also added to the woes of women making them more prone to HIV infections.
Law is equal for all: Rights of the HIV affected
Whether a person is affected or infected by HIV, he/she has three important rights:
(1) Right to informed consent – testing for HIV requires specific and informed consent of the person being tested. A person can move the court if testing is conducted without the consent of the concerned person.
(2) Right to confidentiality – India’s law states that if the person with HIV is afraid to move the court to vindicate his/her rights for fear of his/her HIV status becoming public knowledge, he/she can take the help of Suppression of Identity under a pseudonym.
(3) Right against discrimination – the right to be treated equally is a fundamental right and issues like denial of housing for HIV affected can be settled in the court of law.
What should we know!
As a responsible citizen of this country it is important for each one of us to understand and spread the awareness about the HIV disease. This will largely help in reducing the social stigmas and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS. We should take measures to safeguard ourselves and others from getting infected with the HIV/AIDS by adopting preventive health habits and lifestyle. It is better not to have multiple sexual partners, or at least have safe sex!
Continue to donate blood. The National Blood Policy adopted in April 2002 ensures that the donor and the blood donated are safe as all materials used for blood collection are sterile and disposable. It also certifies that safe and quality blood is collected from voluntary non-remunerated regular blood donors. This resulted in a significant drop in transmission of HIV through blood transfusion. The percentage was reduced from 6.07percent in 1999 to 1.96 percent in 2006 and to 1.1percent in 2007.
Concerted global action is needed!
While this global epidemic is seen stabilizing largely due to the efforts at national and international levels, it is still at an unacceptably high levels. To help effectively pull back this level calls for concerted efforts at multi levels in countries across the globe.
Firstly, we need to act on the many political commitments made on HIV. This requires greater leadership, sincere efforts to learn the positives and keep building on the recent successes by taking account of lessons learnt, improve the financial resources required to fight the deadly virus, enhance coordination and cooperation between states in efforts and knowledge, and effectively draft new laws or spruce up existing laws for effective action to address societal determinants of HIV risk and vulnerability.
Let’s extend our whole hearted support to the HIV infected friends and help spread the awareness.
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