This article was written last year on December 1 to commemorate World AIDS Day. It is in need of a lot of editing and is probably tedious and boring but I hope someone is able to actually read all of it and give me feedback as well... It’s that time of the year again, a time when the issue of HIV- AIDS is brought into in order to debate the possible remedies that can be undertaken to curb this crisis. World AIDS Day, observed December 1 each year, is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. Governments, International Organisations and charities all over the world work towards increasing AIDS awareness with renewed fervour on this day. They set goals in advance to reduce the incidence of infection as well as to increase awareness, and create themes for each year. From its inception in 2004, UNAIDS has spearheaded the World AIDS Day campaign choosing annual themes in consultation with other global health organisations. In 2005 this responsibility was turned over to World AIDS Campaign (WAC), who chose Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise as the main theme for World AIDS Day observances through 2010. The theme this year is ‘Stop AIDS. Keep the promise – Leadership’. Considering that 95% of people infected with HIV live in developing countries of which India has the second largest population living with the disease, we must be thankful that at least one day out of 365 has been dedicated towards spreading awareness about the disease. Woefully, the average Indian remains completely ignorant of the disease most of the time until it’s brought to his/her attention - for a brief period may I add- by a celebrity working for a global AIDS awareness organisation or when World AIDS Day is observed. In some cases people are made aware of the disease when someone they know contracts HIV. For the rest of the year people feel that AIDS is a disease that affects only those people who live on the fringes of society, those ‘other’ people who are condemned because they do things that haven’t received social sanction. Social responses to people with AIDS have been overwhelmingly negative in the few studies that have been conducted in India. For example, 36 per cent of respondents in one study felt it would be better if infected individuals killed themselves; the same percentage believed that infected people deserved their fate (Ambati, Ambati & Rao, 1997). Furthermore, in this same study, 34 percent of respondents said they would not associate with people with AIDS, while about one-fifth stated that AIDS was a punishment from God. A hostility index developed in this study revealed that almost 90 per cent of respondents harboured at least one hostile view, and more than half held three or more such views.
Such reactions make it impossible for a person with the disease to even attempt testing themselves for it, leave alone making their condition known to the people around them. This hostility limits the effectiveness of AIDS related awareness programs in India and can be attributed to the general levels of knowledge about HIV and AIDS and in particular to the causes of AIDS and the routes of HIV transmission. Most people are aware of how serious the illness is. They are also aware that as of now, there is no cure. What they do not know is that it isn’t easily transmitted, that with the right medication, people can live out their natural lifespan with HIV and die of natural causes. HIV isn’t the death sentence it was 10 to 15 years ago. The possibility of finding a cure is imminent. There is no need to fear it to the extent of neglecting, rejecting and denying the existence of people with HIV. Nevertheless, it is a disease to be extremely wary of, a disease that commands constant vigilance. It’s a single act of imprudence that alters your life forever.
Owing to the extra baggage that comes with being HIV positive- that of why, how and when-, coping with the disease is emotionally very difficult. People with HIV have to face discrimination from quarters they never expected to turn against them. Studies have documented HIV/AIDS- related Discrimination, Stigmatization and Denial in contexts such as the family, the community, the health care system, and the workplace. Discriminatory restrictions have also been reported in relation to travel, migration, insurance and health benefits. Family responses to infected relatives are heavily influenced by the community perception of the disease. The family may fear social isolation and hence may insist on concealing the diagnosis thus straining relationships within the family as well affecting the overall analysis of the extent of the epidemic. People with HIV are incorrectly perceived to be a source of infection to others by just being in their presence. Such myths are fuelled by misconceptions regarding the transmission of the virus. Many people believe that mosquito bites, sharing toilet seats and swimming pools with people with HIV would endanger them as well. These beliefs are completely misconstrued and should not be encouraged.
The internet is replete with websites offering every sort of information about HIV and AIDS, from the initial symptoms, to the means of contracting the illness to counselling for people infected with the virus as well as advice columns that answer every bizarre, outlandish and farfetched anxiety of people who are afraid that they have HIV. In India, government hospitals in every state provide free counselling and guidance for people who fear they have contracted the infection or people who are trying to cope with it, under the guidance of the National AIDS Control Organisation.
And yet HIV/AIDS remains a very real threat to the survival of the human species, if global warming, nuclear warfare and terrorism don’t kill us first. The speed with which it is spreading is of growing concern to governments all around the World. In India alone, the incidence of HIV infections is projected to be around 20- 25 million by 2010 (UNAIDS, 2002). India has the second largest population of individuals with HIV/AIDS although it lags behind Sub-Saharan countries quite substantially in this regard. What could possibly be the reason behind such an epidemic? In my opinion, this epidemic has been primarily caused by the inability of the average Indian to talk about taboo topics such as sex, infidelity and drug abuse. Even sex workers find it difficult to talk to each other about sex and HIV. They find it easier to talk to an outsider as they feel that foreigners aren’t restricted by the same social mores and rules (Interview with Raney Aronson, Frontline, June 2004). Such denial discourages people from getting tested thus endangering all the people they get involved with at later dates, from talking about their infection and from leading normal lives if they are indeed infected.
It appears that HIV is an infection that exposes the hypocrisy of society. The HIV epidemic in India has brought out several issues in Indian society that have always been known to have existed but have never been acknowledged. One such issue is that of the sale of young girls into prostitution. What sort of desperation and poverty would force a father to sell his daughter into prostitution? If we are to combat this epidemic we have to acknowledge several negative aspects of our society that though unpleasant, exist nonetheless. Once we overcome this barrier we may be able to contain the spread of this deadly disease that robs a person of their dignity and peace of mind while forcing them to face the reality of their existence, that they have lived in ignorance of, for all their ‘healthy’ life, – that of their inevitable death, from AIDS or otherwise. In actuality, HIV isn't really a death sentence, it's just a way to make a shorter period of your life count for more.
Such reactions make it impossible for a person with the disease to even attempt testing themselves for it, leave alone making their condition known to the people around them. This hostility limits the effectiveness of AIDS related awareness programs in India and can be attributed to the general levels of knowledge about HIV and AIDS and in particular to the causes of AIDS and the routes of HIV transmission. Most people are aware of how serious the illness is. They are also aware that as of now, there is no cure. What they do not know is that it isn’t easily transmitted, that with the right medication, people can live out their natural lifespan with HIV and die of natural causes. HIV isn’t the death sentence it was 10 to 15 years ago. The possibility of finding a cure is imminent. There is no need to fear it to the extent of neglecting, rejecting and denying the existence of people with HIV. Nevertheless, it is a disease to be extremely wary of, a disease that commands constant vigilance. It’s a single act of imprudence that alters your life forever.
Owing to the extra baggage that comes with being HIV positive- that of why, how and when-, coping with the disease is emotionally very difficult. People with HIV have to face discrimination from quarters they never expected to turn against them. Studies have documented HIV/AIDS- related Discrimination, Stigmatization and Denial in contexts such as the family, the community, the health care system, and the workplace. Discriminatory restrictions have also been reported in relation to travel, migration, insurance and health benefits. Family responses to infected relatives are heavily influenced by the community perception of the disease. The family may fear social isolation and hence may insist on concealing the diagnosis thus straining relationships within the family as well affecting the overall analysis of the extent of the epidemic. People with HIV are incorrectly perceived to be a source of infection to others by just being in their presence. Such myths are fuelled by misconceptions regarding the transmission of the virus. Many people believe that mosquito bites, sharing toilet seats and swimming pools with people with HIV would endanger them as well. These beliefs are completely misconstrued and should not be encouraged.
The internet is replete with websites offering every sort of information about HIV and AIDS, from the initial symptoms, to the means of contracting the illness to counselling for people infected with the virus as well as advice columns that answer every bizarre, outlandish and farfetched anxiety of people who are afraid that they have HIV. In India, government hospitals in every state provide free counselling and guidance for people who fear they have contracted the infection or people who are trying to cope with it, under the guidance of the National AIDS Control Organisation.
And yet HIV/AIDS remains a very real threat to the survival of the human species, if global warming, nuclear warfare and terrorism don’t kill us first. The speed with which it is spreading is of growing concern to governments all around the World. In India alone, the incidence of HIV infections is projected to be around 20- 25 million by 2010 (UNAIDS, 2002). India has the second largest population of individuals with HIV/AIDS although it lags behind Sub-Saharan countries quite substantially in this regard. What could possibly be the reason behind such an epidemic? In my opinion, this epidemic has been primarily caused by the inability of the average Indian to talk about taboo topics such as sex, infidelity and drug abuse. Even sex workers find it difficult to talk to each other about sex and HIV. They find it easier to talk to an outsider as they feel that foreigners aren’t restricted by the same social mores and rules (Interview with Raney Aronson, Frontline, June 2004). Such denial discourages people from getting tested thus endangering all the people they get involved with at later dates, from talking about their infection and from leading normal lives if they are indeed infected.
It appears that HIV is an infection that exposes the hypocrisy of society. The HIV epidemic in India has brought out several issues in Indian society that have always been known to have existed but have never been acknowledged. One such issue is that of the sale of young girls into prostitution. What sort of desperation and poverty would force a father to sell his daughter into prostitution? If we are to combat this epidemic we have to acknowledge several negative aspects of our society that though unpleasant, exist nonetheless. Once we overcome this barrier we may be able to contain the spread of this deadly disease that robs a person of their dignity and peace of mind while forcing them to face the reality of their existence, that they have lived in ignorance of, for all their ‘healthy’ life, – that of their inevitable death, from AIDS or otherwise. In actuality, HIV isn't really a death sentence, it's just a way to make a shorter period of your life count for more.
by Shivani Bail
1 comment:
very well written :) frankly this is the first elaborate article I have touched upon on this subject!! Honestly appreciate the work involved, and your dedication to present well-researched facts & deductions to help people get a 360 degree view of Aids in India. Keep up the good work!
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