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Red-Ribbon Day

Times of India >>Dombivli-Kalyan Plus
World AIDS Day has a special place in the history of the AIDS pandemic. Since 1988 December 1has been a day for bringing messages of compassion, hop, solidarity and understanding about AIDS to every country in the world.
Every year, World AIDS Day draws world attention to the prevention and care of HIV/AIDS patients. ‘Stigma and Discrimination’ is the theme for the World AIDS campaign 2002-2003. Under the slogan ‘Live and let live’, the campaign argues that ignorance, denial, fear and intolerance surrounding HIV/AIDS must be tackled in order to reverse pandemic.
Stigma and discrimination continue to fuel the HIV/AIDS epidemic hampering prevention and care efforts. People living with HIV/AIDS and their families have to deal with a traumatic health crisis and negative responses in daily life. “My colleagues didn’t openly say anything about me, but the environment was no longer the same. They avoided me. If I entered the room they would leave abruptly. Then they asked me to keep a separate glass for water. I decided to quit the job,” says a 25-year old discreet factory worker infected with HIV.
Since the first case was reported in Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, HIV has spread rapidly from urban to rural areas and from high-risk groups to the general population. At the end of 1999, an estimated 3.7 million people are living with HIV/AIDS in the country. Currently, the infection rate is estimated to be 0.7 per cent in adult population (between 15 and 49 years of age). In fact, the epidemic has become the most serious public health problem faced by the country since independence.
In Maharashtra, HIV has reached 60 per cent of Mumbai’s sex workers, 14-16 per cent of sentinel STD clinics and over 2 per cent among women attending antenatal clinics (ANCs). The epidemic is slowly moving beyond its initial focus among sex workers. Sub-epidemics are evolving with potentially explosive spread among groups of injecting drug users (IDUs) and among Men having Sex with Men (MSM). The epidemic continues to shift towards women and young people with about 25 per cent of all HIV infections occurring in women. This also adds to the Mother To Child Transmission (MTCT) and paediatric HIV. Mumbai has recorded 20-40 per cent bed occupancy by HIV positive persons in certain referral hospitals.
Microsoft Corp chairman Bill Gates, the richest man in the world and whose company dominated the computer software market, gave a US $100 million grant to fight HIV/AIDS in India which is the second worst affected country in the world by the epidemic. The drive is targeting truck drivers and migrant labourers who are seen as vulnerable to HIV infection. Gates is concerned about India’s health. “India is at a very early stage in the AIDS epidemic, so if the right things are done now, we can prevent it become widespread.” In an interview with the Times of India, Gates suggested that India was a test case for the world in HIV/AIDS epidemic because it held both the problems and the solutions/ the Gates Foundation has committed more than $5 billion worldwide since it was established in 1997. It now grants roughly $1.2 billion a year, mostly to the health-care sector.
From the moment scientists identified HIV and AIDS, social responses of fear, denial, stigma and discrimination have accompanied the epidemic. Discrimination has spread rapidly, fuelling anxiety and prejudice against the groups most affected, as well as those living with HIV or AIDS. Activists say Indians living with HIV/AIDS have been thrown out of their jobs or homes and even refused treatment by doctors.

Factors which contribute to HIV/AIDS-related stigma:
- It is a life-threatening disease
- People are scared of contracting HIV
- People living with HIV/AIDS are often thought of as being responsible for becoming infected

Religious or moral beliefs lead some people to believe that having HIV/AIDS is the result of moral fault (such as promiscuity or ‘deviant sex’) that deserves to be punished.
There is an urgent need to bring about an exchange of knowledge and experience in HIV prevention among people and their practical applicability to today’s scenario. Hope 2002, the second international conference on substance abuse and HIV being held in Mumbai at Hotel Taj Intercontinental from December 1-3, 2002 aims to highlight the latest discoveries in the solution of addiction related problems, including HIV and analyse the effectiveness of current strategies and suggest improvements. They plan to promote the enhancement of joint ventures, skills, and versatility of demand, education/HIV prevention programmes.
Ignoring the existence of HIV and AIDS, neglecting to respond to the needs of those living with HIV infection, and failing to recognise growing epidemics in the belief that HIV/AIDS ‘can never happen to us’ are some of the most common forms of denial. These denials fuel AIDS stigmas by making those individuals who are infected appear abnormal and exceptional. “When the patient comes to our ward, its written on the file ‘HIV’ in big letters. Its kept next to the patient. Anybody can see it,” said a private hospital worker in Mumbai.
A more enabling environment needs to be created to increase the visibility of people with HIV/AIDS as a ‘normal’ part of any society. The two-year campaign (2002-2003) will focus on eliminating stigma and discrimination. UNAIDS says, “Help us fight fear, shame, ignorance and injustice worldwide.”
By the end of 2001 an estimated 40 million people were living with HIV. A further 5 million new infections are predicted by the end of this year. Figures like these make it seem like AIDS is winning. But all over the world, people like you are making a difference. So wear the Red Ribbon. Volunteer your time or make a donation, however small, however large, to your local HIV/AIDS organisation. Because lives depend on it.