Over more than two decades of intervention programme, Bangladesh has been successful in controlling HIV and AIDS and it must continue the existing efforts to end these sexually transmitted diseases by 2030.
The reported number of HIV positive cases in the country was 4143 with estimated number of nearly 9000, Saima Khan, officer-in-charge UNAIDS Bangladesh told a session of the 12th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) here on Sunday.
The three-day conference began at International Convention City Bashundhra on March 12. Some one thousand representatives from 56 countries are participating in the conference.
In her presentation at the session, Saima said among the 4143 HIV positive cases, 600 have died meaning Bangladesh now has over 3000 HIV and AIDS patients. Bangladesh is on track to end HIV and AIDS by 2013, it must maintain the ongoing intervention efforts to reach the target, she added.
“The estimated new annual number of HIV positive cases is 1000 while the reported new annual number is 300 to 400. We need to bring down the estimated cases to 300, if we want to end HIV and AIDS cases by 2030”, the UNAIDS official told BSS.
HIV and AIDS intervention efforts are facing a challenge as funding on scaling up programmes of the diseases are decreasing, she said adding If global funding decreases, the government should allocate own fund to fight HIV and AIDS. Saima said because of strong intervention efforts, Bangladesh has averted 1,41,225 HIV infection and saved nearly 19,545 lives since 1995.
Other health experts at the session said although Bangladesh is a low prevalence country, it is highly vulnerable to HIV and AIDS because of high-risk behaviors. Injecting drug use, commercial unprotected sex with overlaps between more vulnerable and bridging populations, and high rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) increase exposure, they added.
Representatives and health professionals from 11 countries highlighted different aspects on HIV and AIDS at another session titled “High level roundtable symposium on adapting South-South Cooperation framework for strengthening cross-border action on AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria” of the conference.
Co-morbidity of malaria and tuberculosis are closely interlinked to the HIV and epidemic, they said adding global HIV and AIDS programmes should focus on the diseases to combat the sexually transmitted diseases.
