Experts at a workshop in Dhaka on Wednesday expressed grave concern over the increasing number of the Injecting Drug Users among the young men as the needle sharing among IDUs was a very efficient way of transmitting Human Immunodeficiency Virus.
They pointed out that the prevalence of HIV in central Dhaka showed rapid spread during 1999-2008, albeit Bangladesh was still considered as low infected country by HIV.
Data presented at the workshop showed that HIV among the IDU's increased from 4 to 8.9 per cent since 1999 and 44 per cent of the infected people were the sex workers.
Urban Primary Health Care Project manager Masuda Begum read out a keynote paper on 'involvement of mass media to prevent HIV/AIDS'.
Masuda in her paper pointed out that the young people were the most vulnerable to the disease.
She said the young people could not believe that they could suffer HIV infection and they were not aware of HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections.
She also presented data that showed only 1.3 per cent of the young men and adolescents had awareness of HIV, AIDS and STI diseases.
Speakers also addressed inadequate awareness of HIV /AIDS, inability to negotiate safe intercourse as it is a taboo, internal and external migrations, unsafe blood transfusion, poverty, commercial sex industry, multiple customers of sex workers, male dominated society and insufficient women empowerment.
They also said there were 13,000 HIV positive people in the country according to a survey of the UNAIDS and the WHO, while the government survey said the number was 7500.
Non-governmental organisation Nari Maitree organised the workshop at the BIAM auditorium.
Nari Maitree executive director Saheen Akhter, Second Urban Primary Health Care Project director Abu Bakar Siddique, Dhaka City Corporation chief health officer M Nasir Uddin, HIV specialist Hasan Mahmud, among others, also spoke at the workshop.
source:New Age
