FEATURES NEWS THE RISING NEPAL (DAILY)

By Chiranjibi Paudyal

THE epidemic of HIV/AIDS, which has been the major concern of most of the developing countries has reached to an alarming proportion creating a serious social and economic problem. The epidemic which first appeared in the African countries in the 1970s has become the most serious health problem in many countries of the world, specially the third world countries of Africa and the Asia Pacific region.

More than 36 million people of the world, most of them from Africa and the Asia Pacific region, where about 90 per cent of the world’s total HIV /AIDS patients live, have been the serious victim of the epidemic. The African continent has an alarming proportion of the AIDS with more than 70 per cent of the world’s total victims followed by the Asia Pacific region about 18 per cent, Latin America and the Caribbean five per cent, industrialised nations about four per cent, Europe and CIS two per cent and the lowest is the Arab states with only around one per cent. About 1.5 million children below the age of 15 and about 1.6 million women have also become the victims of the killer disease. The HIV/AIDS epidemic has seriously affected the economic condition of the developing countries where it has grown up at an alarming speed forcing the concerned governments to mobilise all the available resources to the rehabilitation of the AIDS victims. According to an estimate of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the life expectancy is expected to drop by as much as 25 years and economies are contracting by 20 per cent or more in the HIV/AIDS hardest hit countries of the world. This has added an additional burden to the countries where fulfilling the basic needs of the poverty stricken population is like taming a wild elephant by an ant. If the HIV/AIDS still increases in the present trend, there will be full stop to the development activities, the government will not be able to provide any resources for the development of education and health care system and the nation will plunge into the mire of poverty.

The epidemic has started to ring an alarming bell in the case of Nepal where officially the figure is put at 2,080 persons suffering from HIV/AIDS but in reality it is estimated to be 30 fold higher than the estimate. According to an estimate, there are about 70,000 persons suffering form the HIV/AIDS in Nepal. The actual victims of the AIDS are estimated at around 550 persons. The first case of the killer disease was seen in 1988 and has increased dramatically within a very short span of time. The experts and the government officials warn if the disease could not be controlled soon, it can be one of the major killer diseases in Nepal. A total of 149 persons have so far died of HIV / AIDS as the actual figure could be more as many people do not want to reveal that they have suffered from the disease which is mainly transmitted from sexual contacts.

According to the information of the National Centre for AIDS and STD Control, most of the people who have contacted the epidemic are sex workers and their clients. Altogether 416 sex workers, 1,278 clients of the sex workers, 235 from injecting drug use, 127 housewives, 21 prenatal transmission and three from blood transfusion have suffered from the epidemic. People of all ages including those of under the age of five and above 50 years have also suffered from AIDS. Most of the people who have suffered from the epidemic are at the 20-29 year age group and their number is 1,156.

The number of HIV victims is increasing in South Asia too and there is the need of concerted efforts from all the countries of the region to tackle the issue. There are around 50,000 drug users in Nepal and there is high risk of HIV/AIDS infections to these uses. Injecting drug is a major mode of HIV transmission. Of all the different ways that the virus can be passed on, injecting directly a substance contaminated with HIV into the bloodstream is by far the most easiect much more than through sexual intercourse. Transmission of HIV among intravenous drug users is almost 13 per cent so there is also the need to concentrate the effort in preventing drug addiction rather than trying to cure.

Poverty and ignorance is rampant in Nepal as a result the battle against AIDS is an uphill task. The open border with India has aggravated the situation. Every day, hundreds of thousands of people cross the border freely, bringing in the deadly disease with them. There is no concrete policy and programmes from any organisations and institutions to tackle the problem very seriously. United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is the lead HIV/AIDS and STI prevention-programme donor in Nepal. According to the agency, its activities have highlighted the importance of HIV/AIDS prevention, which has encouraged other donors, including Britain, Australia, UNDP and UNAIDS, to participate in Nepal’s "initiative to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS." The programme, seeking to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS and provide care and support to those already infected, targets those at greatest risk: commercial sex workers and their clients, intravenous drug users and migrant workers. It includes communications programmes targeting behavioural change, harm reduction activities, condom promotion and prompt treatment of sexually transmitted infections.

The United Nations during the world summit last year had urged the world leaders to make concerted efforts to bring the people out of the HIV/AIDS. If attention is not paid in time, it will make hampet all the development initiatives of the government and create a very serious problem in the society. Nepal is a traditional society based on religious, social and cultural values, which discourage the sexual relations with other people except the husband and wife. The national efforts of Nepal should be based on the promotion of our values and culture, which automatically try to stop such anomalies and help control the disease. Most of the people living in Nepal are illiterate and there is the lack of knowledge about the result of such disease therefore there should be strong media campaign against the disease. Once the people become aware, the disease will not be so serious. There is the need to control the killer disease in time otherwise it will create a serious problem in the society. The government, non-governmental organisations, policy makers and the media people should think of the seriousness of the disease in time and work to control it. The words of UN Secretary General Kofi A. Annan reflect the gravity of the problem, "the battle against HIV/AIDS is far more important than any one institution or project. Our success will not be measured by resolutions passed, appointments made, or even funds raised. It will be measured in the lives of succeeding generations."

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