The New Nation - Internet Edition

Jinat Rahman

(To be continued)

After its birth, every human child has the right to lead the life and to survive in a congenial surrounding. Every human child is born with this right. Healthy or sick, male or female whoever he/she is, has equal share and authority over human rights and respect. Every child will grow up in a healthy society, every one will live independently and every one will get the security to lead a safe life. In no way, no one's life should be under uncertainty and risk. It is very natural that people can suffer from miscellaneous diseases. But for the sake of sickness and health affair, no one should be treated as a pariah or shunned from the society. Moreover, compulsory isolation or sudden attack or humiliation must be evaded. State law should ensure and safe the affected people from all these illegal encroachment on their lives and ensure the security of their lives. Everyone must be careful about that they can move freely in the society and they don't suffer from social and cultural insecurity.

The secrecy of personal life, family secrecy, physical or moral affair, opinion of every one should be respected by others. It is applicable for every person-healthy or sick.

Whether a person is AIDS affected or not, to unearth this information, no experiment should be undertaken without letting the suspected person. If it is for sure that a person is AIDS affected, it should not be disclosed for the sake of his prestige and social security. In this case, it is the responsibility of the related physician and the medical centre to keep it secret. The mass media must constrain themselves from delivering such information so that no information about the identity of the AIDS affected person is divulged.

To impair the human dignity for the sake of religion-color-tribe, nationality, social and cultural difference, sex habit, sicknesses are inhuman attitude. It is not wise to take any humiliating stance or punishing attitude towards the AIDS attacked people to prevent and control AIDS/HIV. The result can go otherwise. No state or government should advocate the discriminating and mortifying attitude towards the AIDS attacked people. It is applicable for the population at stake as well. To prevent and encounter AIDS, the government of Bangladesh has recommended using the mass media and channels to campaign against its expansion in the AIDS prevention activity. But the fact is, to the extent the mass media is being used, the immense potential of mass media is hardly utilized. According to the media survey report of 1998, the accessibility of spectators and listeners has augmented to a commendable amount. This media infrastructure can be the torch bear of AIDS preventing knowledge. But for the scarcity of effective communication system and mismanagement this can't bring out the expected result. In fact, the press and print media are contributing more than the electronic media.

In Bangladesh, television is basically a medium of entertainment. BTV has been telecasting health awareness program from its very beginning. It has been derived from research that Bangladesh television has played a very significant role in family planning, ORTP and immunization process. But its contribution to hinder AIDS expansion is very much insignificant. A very meager portion of total broadcasting hour is spent for HIV/AIDS. In the programs, educational and informational data to change sexual attitude is scanty.

Bangladesh radio is another popular mass media. From the initial stage, it was initiated to broadcast health message. Like television, radio has contributed greatly in preventing population explosion, using oral saline and about the vaccination activity of the six contagious diseases. But the utmost possibility to prevent AIDS has never been utilized. AIDS awareness information is transmitted in the Facts for Life program. Moreover, the time schedules of broadcasting AIDS awareness programs are not suitable for the listeners.

It is not yet experimented about the contribution of the newspapers to prevent AIDS. But from general observation it has been obtained that they are participating to a significant extent regarding this affair.

Our national and regional newspapers are covering AIDS related news as well as publishing features and editorials. But the AIDS related coverage's are mostly very much prosaic. By analyzing twenty AIDS related news published in ten national newspapers, it has been derived that those features are mainly about the incident of AIDS infection, the sufferings of AIDS affected person and his/her immediate family, social humiliation, demise of the AIDS affected person, run away from hospital, seminars and workshops on AIDS and about the horrible features of it. But no clear materials of advocacy and motivation to change the look and behavior towards it are evident in these coverage's. In actual sense the news media of this country publishes that is relevant to the myth which we know around us. In this case the informational gap between the report of Bangladesh government and UNAIDS is quite distinct and the media clearly spot that site. The effort to make AIDS as a public agenda is not quite present in our media.In medias report the destitute of advocacy and catalyst element is distinct. The reports are in this state because of not understanding the media.

The Bangladesh center for programme (BCCP) and National adolescent Working group together are doing the research work on human birth where non -implementation pregnancy and protection from HIV is present. Radio, TV, Video are doing constant work on HIV and health-risk policies. Beside that BCCP is helping national AIDS ICC programme. EEE publishes radio magazine in world HIV day and makes media element of AIDS.

Sobuj Sathi , Sobuj Saya and Ai megh rodro-the 13 episode serials made by Bangladesh Center for Communication is the mixture of entertainment and public awareness. Diarrhea, Vitamin A, family planning and AIDS related information is passed to the general people. By the survey it has been found that Sobuj sathi and Sobuj saya has made impact on people's awareness about HIV and other health related information. In a consensus it is found that among the viewers of Sobuj saya 74% has become aware of AIDS.

Condom is still considered to be the best antidote for HIV. But there is no rules and regulation for its usage. The family planning institution distributes it as only for birth control, not as a protection to this contagious illness like HIV. That's why condom is still now used as a pill. Although the demand of condom is increasing day by day to the victimized people but it is not available and the supply is not sufficient.

The contagiousness of HIV AIDS and its medical facility is limited. Advice and test is only available in big cities. Although various such type of medicine is supposed to be available in the government hospitals but it is very rare in reality. Whether this medicine should be given free or not is still vague in national advisory and no donor institution is not ready to give supply such medicines. The economically abled patients gathers medicine from private sector. Although HIV regulation is included in both government and non-governmental policy but it is not reflected in real world.

Those who are activated for consciousness of HIV/AIDS are victim of police suffering, because crime law is almost against HIV rules & regulation. Still now any type of step is not taken for infected people for there help.

Lets move against HIV/AIDS ,lets take step so that government and non-government can take participates in society thoroughly against HIV/AIDS. Lets build a HIV/AIDS free country.

(Concluded)