HIV/AIDS Scare

THAT over 142 lives have been lost due to HIV/AIDS comes as a startling piece of information in a supposedly conservative society that Nepal is. The death figures may not seem to be very big but seeing by the way that HIV/AIDS spreads, there can be no doubt that in a number of years the menace will grow so much that it will be difficult to control it as has been the experience of some parts of Africa. Diseases as such know no boundaries and an epidemic of the sort in the country in the near future cannot be ruled out because of the global village that we are living in. Another matter of serious concern is that no cure has yet been found for the disease and that strikes terror in the minds of all concerned. It has been many years that the scare of HIV/AIDS has been making the rounds but the effective implementation of the programmes and plans for controlling the disease has not made headlines. It is not that the concerned agencies including the government units that are totally unaware of the gravity of the situation but the commitment has not been enough. The figures of deaths from HIV/AIDS may seem small at the moment but the rapid spread of the disease in the future cannot be denied if no immediate action is taken to do the necessary in this regard immediately.

Safe sex, use of sterilised disposable needles and real check in blood transfusion are some of the ways to check the spread of the menacing disease. In fact, as the experience of Nepal goes, commercial sex is one of the reasons for the spread of not only HIV/AIDS but also other sexually transmitted diseases besides creating the social anomalies that is the result. It is a matter of shame that thousands of Nepalese women and girls are trafficked abroad to satisfy the demands of the ever-growing sex market. And the news that 1,807 people, including 1,271 men and 536 women in the country have been found to be affected by HIV/AIDS makes interesting reading besides the scare that it creates. The figures may not look impressive at present but in the days to come the matters may be different and an epidemic of the disease may be difficult or rather impossible to control if appropriate steps are not taken urgently. The measures to be taken for checking HIV/AIDS must not be limited but be carried out with firm commitment and not just plain lip service.

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