Defeated by AIDS: Time to Make the Campaign Effective (Goa)

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Defeated by AIDS ; Time to Make the Campaign Effective

Date : Thursday, March 9,2006.The Navhind Times.

The phenomenon of AIDS spreading from coastal parts to the hinterland of Goa is

proof both of continuing indiscretion in pleasure-seeking in society and lack of

effectiveness of government and non-governmental campaign to curb it.

A legitimate question to ask is whether the allocations for awareness-raising

are working their worth. According to the Goa State AIDS Control Society

(GSACS), while the total number cases from 1986 to 2005 was 8,420, the number of

HIV infections in Goa in 2005 alone was 1029. And this happened when the rate of

growth of AIDS in India-particularly in states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and

Andhra Pradesh-has come down by 3.1 per cent.

The rise in Goa shows something is wrong with the way we are fighting the

pandemic here. In 2004 the then state health minister had said that at least 35

per cent of AIDS cases were from interior areas. This raises the question: why

even after knowing the trend did the authorities fail to act? Does not it also

show that knowledge about the dangers of HIV is still scant among the people-in

other words, not imparted to the people, particularly women?

The GSACS figures point to an alarming trend: there were 7189 positive cases in

2004, out of which 511 were of full-blown AIDS; in 2003, 793 persons were

detected with AIDS; in 2004 the figure went up to 977. And the latest report of

GSACS points out 1029 cases.

Significantly every third person affected with the disease is a female. What has

been really significant is that the growth of the disease has been directly

proportionate to the increase in the fund to fight the disease. This increase

simply reinforces the people’s perception that government and voluntary

campaigns have not been effective in their results. Else, how come information

about dangers and preventive measures did not reach people in the interiors? The

CAG report for 2003 had underlined that the apex body for fighting AIDS, the

GSACS, had not implemented " intersectoral collaboration, " one of the key

components of the awareness programme.

According to the GSACS report, sex continues to be the predominant mode for

spread of the disease; it also points to lack of awareness or uncaring attitude

of the people engaged in health services; 0.7 per cent infected by syringes and

needles and 0.5 per cent through blood and blood products. Does not it imply

that the people entrusted with healthcare have been quite careless? Another

shocking thing is the revelation that private doctors have been violating

government norms and directives by not reporting deaths of their AIDS patients

to the authorities. A government notification has made it compulsory for all

doctors to report AIDS deaths. Now the time has come for the government to act,

initiate stringent action against everyone, including the ineffective NGOs and

the erring private doctors who do not abide by the instructions. There has to be

a strict review and monitoring of the performance of the agencies engaged in the

task. It must ensure that nobody thrives on the misery

of AIDS.

________________

In Solidarity

Jaffer Inamdar

Presdient, Positive Lives Foundation " PLF "

E-Mail; plf@...