Bangladesh a low HIV prevalent country

He told a United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meeting on HIV/AIDS that religious motivation is being regularly conducted for mass awareness about prevention of HIV/AIDS and STI.

The state minister said the country's vulnerability stems from its large population size, high illiteracy rate, poverty, internal and external migration, the fact that the country is surrounded by high prevalent countries and the documented high risk behaviour in the most vulnerable population groups.

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Focusing on the positive impact of religious motivation and cultural heritage, he said HIV infection among Armed Forces personnel remains commendably low in spite of their deployment in high risk areas overseas as UN peacekeepers.

"Only three were found HIV positive out of 44,000 so far deployed. This is due to an intensive and comprehensive programme initiated in 1989 to reduce the risk of HIV and STI transmission amongst. Armed Forces personnel," Mizan said.

The state minister told UNGA that Bangladesh is highly committed to addressing issues of public health concerns including HIV/AIDS. Bangladesh with its 130 million population is still fortunate to be a low prevalent country.

The HIV positive cases in Bangladesh have been estimated at 13,000 by UNAIDS and WHO. But at the end of world AIDS Day 2002, the number of our reported cases was 248 of whom 26 developed AIDS. Of the 26 AIDS patients, 20 died.

He said the government will revisit the estimated number of HIV/AIDS by UNAIDS and WHO and calculate its own estimate.

The state minister, however, said that the numerical figure is not a major concern for Bangladesh. "We have made it high priority to work with people living with HIV/AIDS to reduce the stigma associated with a positive status, to start enacting laws for the protection of the rights of HIV/AIDS infected and affected people in line with the National HIV/AIDS policy and other International Agencies and UN guidelines.""We are also starting to address issues of making anti-retroviral drugs available at an affordable price," he told the UNGA.

The state minister's comments came when the non-government organisations find that despite increased AID/HIV awareness among sex workers the safe sex campaign yielded little results in promoting the use of condoms by brothel goers.

According to different voluntary organisations and women's groups that most prostitutes, both brothel inmates and floating ones, are aware of the risks of AIDS and other venereal diseases, but the customers are reluctant to use condoms.

At least six non-governmental organisations have been working for months in the port town of Narayanganj, promoting safer sex behaviour and raising awareness of risk generating situation.