Threat
To Children
AIDS is growing exponentially, affecting vast swathes of humanity. What is most worrisome
for Nepal is that South Asia has come to occupy the unenviable position as one of the
fastest growing AIDS epidemic regions in the world with India alone having 4 million
HIV/AIDS patients. That makes our southern neighbour the world's second largest country in
terms of HIV cases. As a contiguous country with which we share a lot of economic, social
and cultural ties, Nepal needs to get more concerned. Nepal's health care system is
already one of the poorest in the region and even primary health care is out of reach for
most Nepalese. That being the case, the implications of an AIDS epidemic in Nepal is
clearly imaginable. A release the other day by UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia,
which is based in Kathmandu, said the increasing infection rates of HIV affected people in
the region such as Nepal, India, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh have serious
implications not only for health care system but threats to reverse years of steady
progress in child survival. The information was released at a three-day regional
consultation on prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT), programmes related to
which are being established in the South Asian countries, following the setting of targets
and goals by UN Special Session on HIV/AIDS in June 2000 to reduce the proportion of
infants infected with HIV.
More prominent among
Nepal's AIDS vulnerable groups are sex workers and injecting drug users. Added to such
sections of the population are children, on account of the likelihood of transmission of
the virus from mothers to children. Though figures for Nepal in terms of mother-to-child
transmission are not available, it is estimated that some 100,000 pregnancies in India
occur to HIV positive mothers. We do already have some cases of HIV children infected by
mothers. Poverty, illiteracy, low social status, gender discrimination all have combined
to fuel the rise in AIDS cases in Nepal. There is the reality of limited access to
information and supportive services. In such a scenario, it is easy to predict that more
Nepalese children would be infected unless programmes to prevent mother-to-child
transmission are not undertaken right away. The campaign against AIDS has to embrace the
propagation of how a HIV infected pregnant woman could transmit HIV to her baby.
Scientific studies have shown that a baby can be infected during pregnancy, delivery and
through breastfeeding. The rate of mother to child transmission range from 14 to 32 in
non-breastfeeding population and from 25 to 48 per cent among partially breast-feeding
population. Information such as this must be spread among the target groups so that kids
are prevented from catching HIV.
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