Publications

Information from the third round of HIV surveillance in Bangladesh show that infection rates remain low, but it is now clear that this situation will not continue unless there is a radical reduction in risk behaviour. Sex workers in Bangladesh report among the highest number of partners per week in Asia and condom use are lower here than in any other Asian country in which it has been measured.

This study was carried out among female sex workers in Kathmandu valley from March to August 2001 to determine the prevalence of HIV and syphilis and also to examine behavioral attitudes related to sexually transmitted disease. Total of 500 female sex workers (300 street based and 200 non-street based) were included in the study. All the female sex workers who agreed to participate were included in the study. After obtaining an informed consent a questionnaire was administered and blood sample was collected.

This report illustrates the powerful and negative effects of stigma on those affected by HIV/AIDS. The stories from children are particularly powerful. They remind us all of the human tragedies that lie behind the statistics. HIV/AIDS touches us all in some way – through family, friends, or communities. Addressing the HIV/AIDS pandemic requires a strong and coordinated response from all sectors of society - government, NGOs, churches, communities and children, as well as the international community. But this response has to incorporate changes in attitude and behaviour at the personal level, if they are to be successful.

The aim of this study is to use existing information to provide a comprehensive picture of the levels, patterns, composition and trends of the various types of contemporary population mobility occurring within Indonesia, as well as from and to the country. Insofar as it is possible using existing data, the study aims to indicate how population mobility in Indonesia is linked to the existing and likely future diffusion of HIV/AIDS.  It finds that, while undoubtly such a relationship exists, there is a dearth of existing research and knowledge not only into the nature of the relationship but also the location of the places where mobility is influencing and likely to influence the spread of HIV/AIDS.

HIV/AIDS is a major development crisis that affects all sectors. During the last two decades the HIV/AIDS epidemic has spread relentlessly affecting people in all walks of life and decimating the most productive segments of the population particularly women and men between the ages of 20 and 49 years. The increasing number of AIDS related absenteeism from workplaces and deaths reflects the early manifestation of the epidemic leaving behind suffering and grief.

This paper explores the nature of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Cambodia, its impact on the country’s development and its effect on the 40 percent of Cambodians who live below the poverty line. It views AIDS within a wider health context, and explores the socio-economic factors that underlie both the epidemic’s development and the shape of the country’s response. Finally, it examines Cambodia’s options going forward, arguing that future responses will be needed along three tracks – those specific to AIDS; those specific to health; and those with a broad development focus.

The Behavioral Surveillance survey (BSS) for HIV prevention is based on serologic sentinel surveillance survey methods used in many countries to detect the emergence of HIV and monitor epidemic trends. Behavioral surveillance surveys are systems for quantitatively assessing sexual behavior change, consisting of structured questionnaires, administered periodically to samples of target groups specific geographic areas. This survey is the third round of the BSS conducted in the highway route of the FHI project area.

Behavioral surveillance surveys (BSS) form an important component of integrated surveillance systems for monitoring the HIV epidemic and are included in the second generation surveillance systems recommended by UNAIDS and WHO. This report highlights findings from female sex workers and adult males (specifically sailors and seaport workers and truckers and their assistants) from the first through the fifth waves of the BSS, conducted yearly in 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000.

Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be one of the most important global public health threats. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the incidence of TB increased by 5 percent between 1997 and 1999, from 8 million to 8.4 million new cases. African countries severely affected by the HIV epidemic experienced a 20 percent increase in the incidence of TB; this rise is largely responsible for the TB increase globally. The relationship between TB and HIV has been recognized since the early days of the HIV epidemic. Today HIV is known to be an important risk factor, contributing to the development of active TB from latent TB infection. A person co-infected with TB (positive PPD skin test) and HIV faces a five percent to 16 percent annual risk of developing active TB disease. HIV also makes individuals with a recent TB infection more likely to progress rapidly to active TB disease. WHO estimates that more than 10 million people worldwide live co-infected with TB and HIV, more than two-thirds of whom are in sub-Saharan Africa.

As in other regions of the world, youth in South Asia will be disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. This has major implications for a region in which approximately 54 % of its population is below the age of 25 – the age of vulnerability for risk taking behaviour. Infection patterns already show the disturbing trend of increased infections in young people below the age of 25. Of the estimated four million people living with HIV/AIDS in the region more than one third are young people below the age of 25. This trend in infections means that large numbers of young people could become affected with devastating human and economic consequences. The Regional Strategy has an objective of reducing HIV and other sexually transmitted infections among young people aged 10-24, and to increase access to care and support services for those affected by the epidemic by 2003 in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.