The New Nation - Internet Edition

Jinat Rahman

The human kind have never been endangered to such a scale by any epidemic that now we are struggling with the mortal disease AIDS. It as for sure that the total human kind has neither paid so much attention nor became so much appalled for any other disease as it became for the rampant expansion of AIDS.

AIDS is such a severe syndrome that still the medical scientists have not invented any treatment of it. AIDS/HIV is the most rigorous among all the deadliest diseases that exist in the world. Painful death is the final outcome of this syndrome. In the zenith of technological advancement, the inhabitants of this planet are experiencing its nightmare every now and then. Everyone is apprehensive about its fatal existence. We are now encumbered by this incurable disease after its devastating excursion in Europe, America and Africa. It is spreading out everywhere like the pace of light and sound. Our nearest neighbor India has already been declared as the second biggest AIDS/HIV attacked country. Moreover, it has been started attacking our beloved Bangladesh at a slower pace. In 1988 The United Nation at first expressed anxiety of the existence and expansion of AIDS in its general convention. It declared the world AIDS day as well. About five million people are infected by HIV virus. There is no cure of this syndrome. To create mass awareness to face this curse, the first December of every year has been declared as the world AIDS day.

The existence of AIDS was first detected in 1989. Though thirteen years have been elapsed after that, HIV infected people are increasing in an alarming rate. According to the government census published in December 2006, the number of HIV patient is 864. Among them 240 people are fully suffering from AIDS and 190 people have already died from a painful death. The rest of them are just waiting for their demise. The people of Sylhet are attacked mostly and to a greater extent by this fatal disease. The number of attacked people here is 40. After that there is Dhaka and Chittagong. These two districts have 22 and 21 AIDS affected people. 34 AIDS infected people have not been detected till now.

But comparing the scenario of our neighboring countries, this survey of AIDS affected people is quite disputed. Moreover, serious discrepancy and dissimilarity have been observed in the government source comparing to other sources. Last year when a person who was back from Malaysia died in Pabna by AIDS, he was not counted in the govt. census published in November. No activity has been undertaken by our govt. to test the blood and health of our 130 million people to detect the AIDS affected people. Our govt. treats the report published by BSMMU (PG) hospital and other two hospitals as the scenario of the whole country. On the contrary, the health ministry expressed its anxiety by numbering the AIDS attacked people as 1000 and foreboded that this number will increase in a rampant manner within a short time period. Whatsoever data has been disclosed by our govt. it is very easy to surmise how the number of AIDS affected people is augmenting in an alarming rate by watching the increasing ratio of AIDS affected people. In 1988 five laboratories have been established in Bangladesh to detect AIDS by the assist of GLOBAL Program on AIDS of World Health Organization. A survey shows that sufficient evidence of AIDS expansion exists in Bangladesh. Mainly it is a highly risky place for AIDS. Another way of AIDS expansion is to transmit blood without testing. Especially seventy five percent of the blood donors here are professional blood donors. Though the severity of AIDS is still low here, it can expand as the Diffusion method like our neighboring country. If proper prevention and precaution is not taken, a huge number of potential and working people can be attacked by this curse. Our socio-economic system may falter as a result of it.

The number of sexual worker in our country is about 0.6 million. Six percent of them are infected by the germ of AIDS. 30%-40% of these sexual workers are suffering from complicated sexual disease like Syphilis or Gonorrhea which is paves the way for expanding AIDS. 52 percent of the sexual workers are in severe risk of being effected by AIDS. Motor workers, rickshaw pullers, drug addicted youth, some students and some people of the so called high society are the regular customers of these sexual workers. Ninety nine percent of these motor workers and rickshaw pullers are completely ignorant of the risk and consequence of HIV/AIDS. A single sexual worker of Bangladesh engages in sexual intercourse twenty times each week which is the leading number in the world. The 1.5lac sexual workers every day perform sexual activity with three male every day on an average which leads to thirteen million a month. If these sexual workers and the in the mean time affected six percent sexual workers are not informed of this mortal disease, they can spread this fatal germ to nine hundred male everyday. If this number will increase and multiply a geometric number, this incident statistics may prove the UNAIDS statistics correct. It is because most of the customers don't use condom during sexual activity. They also express severe disapproval of using it although the sexual workers insist them to use condom. This disapproval also accelerates the expansion of HIV virus. This data has been collected from the research papers of Centre for Policy.

Human right means to live independently. Every person will eat, sleep, move, and express his /her opinion, make relatives, elect leader, perform cultural activity as well as participate in the religious programs and rituals-----all these are basic human rights. Almost every constitution has permitted this authority to every one to independently have these rights beside the International Human Rights Agreement. According to Bangladeshi constitution, every person has the equal legal or moral prerogative whatever his/her religion, color, nationality, tribe, language, opinion, socio-economic condition, wealth is. Not only this privilege is only for those who are mentally and physically fit but also it treats the sick and mentally instable people in the same manner.

Being infected by AIDS or HIV means the voyage towards death. But don't they have the rights to get the authority over basic human claims? Of course they have. Because it has been assured in the cosmopolitan human rights claim that they have all equal authority over social and national rights and to live independently like others. They will live independently in the society; participate in socio-cultural and religious activities. But do they get it or fulfill their rights in reality? No, they are not. Not at all if the scenario of Bangladesh is concerned. Although numerous people in Bangladesh are infected by HIV virus, they don't disclose it and don't take treatment for the fear of shame, embarrassment, social security, loosing job and so on. Because, till now those people's whose names have been divulged have experienced utter negligence, embarrassment and social torture. The suffering people were made social outcast or were forced to leave the village or home. These are the regular incidents. So many times it happened like that the AIDS affected person was sent in jail. For this reasons they were deprived of social security and other rights and became a spectacular creature. Even the family members of the affected person couldn't evade humiliation and torture.

As a member of the society, as a citizen of this country and mostly as a human being, it is our duty to ensure the human rights of the AIDS affected people. Regarding this matter, the responsibilities and duties of the state, government as well as general people are discussed in the following.

The physicians must inform the patient about the nature of their disease and tell them what types of safety measures have to be taken. To prevent the expansion of this disease, the doctors should describe the code of conduct to the patient with the people he/she is closely attached with like- husband or wife, children or relatives. Those who are leading a conjugal life, the partner of the patient must be informed. According to the AIDS specialists, the commonplace rules and regulations are not sufficient enough to protect the rights of AIDS attacked people. The amount of care that is taken for the Diabetes attacked or mentally impaired people, is not taken for the AIDS attacked people in our traditional law and order.

To get rid of this situation, the expert physicians together with the social workers should work to detect the AIDS infected people in every sphere of the society and to take care of them properly. This type of caring is included in benevolence and altruism that has been made as a compulsion in Islam. And it is also written in Quran to help the distressed which everyone must oblige.

The doctors also have to show respect to the rules and regulations and should not violate the moral of the medical profession. They must not avoid the AIDS patients how severe their sickness is. They will inform the patients about the nature of their illness and what to do to prevent its expansion.

AIDS and other sexual diseases are somewhat different from other diseases. In these cases the patients have to suffer from torture and humiliation. As these types of diseases are of different pattern, the relationship between the doctor and the patient is quite emotional.

It is true that the level of the knowledge health and sexuality is below standard in this region comparing to the areas of the world. The matters related with sexual affairs are treated as the topic of mortification and are never discussed openly. That's why it is always shadowed by the cover of haziness. So, the right of the patients should be emphasized and uplifted. It is for sure that whatever is the cause of AIDS infection, the patient's status and position shall never be impaired.

(To be continued)