HIV and INDIA: From Problems to Solutions.

Haryana: HIV AIDS is one of he biggest threats posing thecountry today. India has the fastest growing HIV AIDSpopulation in the world and this makes the situation extremely grave.

Discarding the recent controversy between the UN and the HealthMinistry over whether India has the largest population of HIVinfected people, it would be safe to say that India has asubstantial population of infected people and whether it isthe largest or the second largest is really irrelevant.Compounding the problem is the lack of awareness regarding thedisease. Many people in our country have simply never heardabout the disease. They actually don't know what HIV AIDS is.Leaving aside this ignorant lot, there are those who probablyhave heard about the disease but choose vehemently to ignoreit. They either believe that the disease itself is a myth orif at all it exists then they are somehow immune to it. Thenthere are those thick heads who have a problem using condoms.

They believe it's not macho to use condoms and that real mendon't need to use one. Then there are genuine misconceptionsabout the disease. The people who fall under this categoryaccept the disease but due to their misconceptions think theycan somehow avoid it. Even though there are other ways thatAIDS can spread, such as through infected blood transfusionsor by sharing infected needles, in the course of this articleI shall focus on sexual transmission of AIDS as it is thelargest cause of the spread of the disease and accounts forthe majority of the cases.

So this is the situation that the country is faced with today.We have a large chunk of our population that is simplyignorant about the disease or it hurts their macho pride toaccept it. The question to be asked here is why is it so? Whyis India in such a grave scenario when it comes to HIV AIDS?Firstly, let us draw some parallels with South Africa, whichis the other country that has a huge HIV infected population.

The problem with South Africa is that it is riddled with mythsand utter misconceptions when it comes to HIV. There are mythssuch as if you are an HIV infected person then having sex witha virgin can rid you of the disease, then there is one whichsays how you can rid yourself of the disease by passing onyour blood to someone else, and then there is the mostlaughable one which says that having a bath after having sexcan prevent you from contracting the disease. What makes thesemyths even more outrageous and baffling is that people whobelieve in such myths in South Africa are not just yourilliterate, uneducated lot but infact it runs as high up asthe South African Health Ministry itself.

A recent UN report clearly indicated that the reluctance ofthe of the South African Heath Ministry to advocate usage ofcondoms is due to these very myths and misconceptions.

Now the problem in India is slightly different from SouthAfrica. Yes there are myths and misconceptions here as wellbut the nature of these are different from South Africa.Over here the misconceptions stem from a reluctance to openlytalk about sex and from male chauvinism/egoism. Lets take upthe first one. Sex, in India, is one of those things thatpeople somehow don't talk about openly. It is difficult togauge the reasons behind this, even though we are the land ofthe 'Kamasutra'. But somehow a majority of the people in ourcountry are reluctant to openly talk about sex and this goestrue not just in rural India but in urban India as well. Thisis where a majority of the misconceptions creep in. The onlyway to fight AIDS is through knowledge and awareness and nottalking about sex openly is probably the single most reasonwhy India has the fastest growing HIV numbers.

Not talking about sex and not discussing things like safe sexand AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases is absolutelycriminal. One should definitely foster an environment wherebythings like safe sex and AIDS can openly be discussed in theclassrooms in schools/colleges, between friends and familymembers. That is the only way we would have a shot at fightingthis dreaded disease. So to sum up, talk sex. Secondly, thepoint about male chauvinism or egoism. There are men out therethat are fully aware of HIV AIDS but choose to ignore it.

They are somehow blinded by male egoism and believe that realmen can't have AIDS and therefore don't take any precautions.A classic group of such people are the truck drivers in ourcountry, who go from town to town, sleeping with variousprostitutes in different places. These people will tell youthat AIDS is something that can only happen to those who arenot man enough and probably weak in sex. So they being realmen don't exactly have to worry about things like AIDS. Afterall they do have a robust sex life.

Misconceptions like these are what makes truck drivers andother similar individuals with similar thinking, a high-riskgroup as far as HIV AIDS is concerned. For HIV AIDS canhappen to anyone if one is not careful and doesn't takeprecautions during sex.

Lastly I would like to highlight another group of individualsin our society who believe that AIDS can't happen to thembecause of cultural reasons. They believe that culturallythey are so different from the rest of the world that there isno way things like AIDS can happen to them. Their answer tofighting AIDS is 'abstinence'. I cannot express in words asto how much I despise these people from the very core of myheart. Not only are these people simply morons but also theirunderstanding of the society is so utterly ridiculous that itmakes my blood boil.

Thankfully the present government seems to have their factsright about HIV AIDS and seems to be going about the ant-AIDScampaign in the right manner. But more needs to be done. Thereshould be many more public campaigns and projects regardingthis issue and the society as a whole should be a part ofthese. School and college children are the most receptive inthis regard and the government should tap the potential thatthey have to offer. Make HIV AIDS education a priority. Gofrom door to door spreading awareness and information and talkfreely about it. Then only do we stand a chance.

This is a fight that we as a nation cannot afford to lose. Letas all strengthen our resolve to fight AIDS. Fight AIDS beforeit gets you.

Source:// indiaenews.com, July 04, 2006.
http://indiaenews.com/2006-07/13645-hiv-india.htm