Mohammad Khairul Alam



Executive Director

Rainbow Nari O Shishu Kallyan Foundation

24/3 M. C. Roy Lane

Dhaka-1211, Bangladesh

rainbowngo@gmail.com

Tell: 880-2-8628908

Mobile: 01711344997

AIDS which poses a challenge to the mankind, has already claimed the lives of more than 40 million and an additional 14,000 are added everyday to this alarming figure. Each year 3 million are dying of HIV/AIDS. According to a WHO report, an estimated 42 million people throughout the globe are currently living with HIV. It is spread through contact with the blood or semen of a person infected with HIV. This can happen during unsafe sex (without condom). People who inject drugs might get HIV if they share a needle with an infected person. HIV also spreads through blood transfusion. HIV is not spread by casual contact such as hugging, kissing, holding hands, sitting on toilet seats, or sharing clothing.

Certainly, adolescent girls’ prostitution is booming in Bangladesh. Adolescent girls engage or are forced into prostitution for trafficking or socio-economic reasons. But in addition to sexual exploitation, they face all sorts of violence. Rainbow Nari O Shishu Kallyan Foundation carried out a recent field investigation, the research confirmed that adolescents girls’ prostitution is widespread in Bangladesh, although hidden at first sight from foreigners, especially in Dhaka city. Adolescent girls involved in prostitution are to be found in residence homes converted into brothels or in hotels. The majority are aged 15-18. Campaigns to raise consciousness on HIV and AIDS have to be clear and with the simple messages such as using condoms, and these should address deep-rooted gender inequality and interpret the risks to women which are beyond their control.

In prevention strategies, adolescent girls do appear as a target group. The education sector, and schools in particular, should be often a major target for HIV/AIDS prevention programmes, via sex education and knowledge of condom-use. By the way we have to address or find out those who didn"t get chance to enrol in these institutions. We have to evolve different strategies to reach the messages to them. In addition, health education programmes which aim to empower women and girls to use condoms often fail adequately to tackle the actual problems because of imbalanced power relations. The desired changes in the behaviour of adolescent girls and boys cannot happen without programmes addressing such issues like how a girl can say no, but also why boys, teachers and other adults should respect the human rights of girls.

Health and education sectors can work together to develop prevention programmes in schools/colleges, which enhance awareness of gender inequality among boys and school/college staffs, as well as girls themselves. Such programmes also need to expand beyond the school boundaries to reach adolescent girls and boys who do not attend school/college or have dropped out. This may help reduce girls" continuing vulnerability to violence, coercive sex and HIV infection. According to recent survey by Rainbow Nari O Shishu Kallyan Foundation, 80% of those surveyed believe that adolescent need more information about HIV/AIDS. As a result of the lack of accessible and appropriate information, fear and stigma are common reactions surrounding the virus and infected persons.

In many developing countries, poverty and gender discrimination are both strongly linked to the spread of HIV/AIDS. Gender and age analysis shows the ways in which women and girls of various ages are vulnerable to the infection and in need of support to enable the survivors to overcome the economic and social effects of the epidemic. In fact, HIV/AIDS and poverty alleviation strategies are interconnected.

Women empowerment can prevent gender discrimination, which justifies a holistic approach of policies and programmes to reduce poverty and address HIV/AIDS. For example, poverty leads women into unsafe sexual encounters, and speeds the onset of AIDS-related illnesses. Violence against women and girls is common in societies with high instability or conflicts. All these factors establish the fact that more females than males are being newly infected every day. It also indicates that women are more likely to contract HIV and fall sick with AIDS at a younger age than men.

Development organisations and policymakers have not yet completely taken into account the demographic changes caused by HIV and AIDS, although there is a growing awareness of the critical need to do this. Combined gender and age analysis is a necessary step to help development organisations to design policies and programmes that would decrease vulnerability to the epidemic, and minimise its impact on health and livelihoods.

References: UNAIDS, World Bank, Rainbow Nari O Shishu Kallyan Foundation