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NATIONAL POLICY ON HIV/AIDS AND STD
RELATED
ISSUES
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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The existence of
HIV/AIDS/STD poses a serious challenge to human kind. To date,
there is neither a vaccine nor a cure for AIDS. It is now well
known that the presence of STDs predisposes the individual to
HIV infection. Unfortunately, many STD cases go undiagnosed and
untreated.
HIV/AIDS is a
human development problem fueled by poverty, the inequality of
certain sectors of society, and the presence of other STDs. As a
result, the socio-cultural, economic as well as health
determinants of the transmission of HIV/AIDS/STD must be
addressed. In formulating a national policy for HIV/AIDS and STD
related issued, the need arises to incorporate the above as
policy concerns as part of an action strategy for future
programmes.
A National Policy
Document on HIV/AIDS and STD, under the auspices of the
Bangladesh STD Prevention and Control Project, was compiled by a
‘Task Force’ in early 1995 with the Chairman of the Technical
Committee of the National AIDS Committee as its convener. Its
limitation lay in the fact that it could not delve into all the
issues with purported authority. This led to the formation of a
‘Core Group’ drawn from all disciplines of the social health
strata. The group held a ‘Multi-Sectoral Consensus’ Workshop
using Visualization in Participatory Planning (VIPP) method on 8
& 9 October 1996 in which various stakeholder groups
participated. The participants reviewed and recommended
necessary amendments and additions to the National Policy
Document which are reflected in this final draft.
Four
Cross-cutting and priority issues were given emphasis in the
document. These were human rights, gender, behaviour and
information, education and communication (IEC). The modern human
rights movement envisaged in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (UDHR) offers public health a previously unavailable
instrument and approach for analyzing and responding to the
societal dimensions of the vulnerability to HIV/AIDS/STDs.
Gender receives an increasingly important dimension as women
will account for almost half of all the HIV infections by the
year 2000. One cannot proceed with a HIV/AIDS/STD policy by
delinking women’s and men’s reproductive and behaviural health
issues.
Over the last few
years, there has been as attempt to differentiate between ‘high
risk group’ and ‘high risk behaviour’. Focusing attention on
behaviour has proven more effective, because it targets all who
are vulnerable. AIDS information, education and communication is
an important strategy for HIV/AIDS prevention. The use of
powerful media –both electronic and print –must be augmented to
present balanced, informative and well judged news. Media must
shun prejudices and value judgments in line with fundamental
human rights and shape educative efforts to produce its impact
on behavioural changes.
The policy
statement endorses the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
as a standard for policy making and action at all levels in the
response to HIV/AIDS and STDs in Bangladesh. All the fundamental
principles enshrined in the text of UDHR are to be followed in
pursuance of policy making.
As regards the
HIV/AIDS/STD Prevention and Control Programme, certain
objectives and strategies have been delineated. Among the
objectives are to:
a) prevent HIV
transmission;
b) reduce the
impact of HIV/AIDS on the individual and the community;
c) prevent
transmission of STDs; and
d) provide STD
management.
Among the
strategies are:
a) prevention
of sexual transmission;
b) prevention
of transmission through blood and blood products;
c) prevention
of parenteral transmission;
d) prevention
of vertical transmission from mother to child; and
e) reduction of
the impact of HIV infection on individuals, communities and
the society.
To carry out
these specific objectives and strategies, the national programme
has been assigned to several task formulating bodies with
individual membership make-up and terms of references. The
committees are:
National AIDS
Committee
A multi-sectoral
body with a strong political commitment. It is an advisory
body to the Government of Bangladesh which oversees all the
aspects related to HIV/AIDS and STDs.
Technical
Committee of the National AIDS Committee
The Technical
Committee is a body of experts supervising technical aspects
of HIV/AIDS/STD prevention and control and is the technical
arm of the National AIDS Committee. In addition the Technical
Committee provides technical support to the Coordination
Committee.
Co-ordination
Committee
This group or
body performs as the link to the tripartite coalition of NAC,
MOH&FW and DGHS for smooth functioning in policy formulation
and implementation. It consists of coordinators of
surveillance, counselling, health education, blood
transfusion, sterilization, nursing, case management,
laboratories, primary health care and reproductive health
services.
The above
mentioned groups or bodies form the backbone of the HIV/AIDS and
STD Prevention and Control Programme in Bangladesh. In
additional to this, NGOs and the private sector form a vast
non-formal sector in collaborating, assisting and complimenting
the strategies and programmes enacted by the Tripartite
Coalition in connection with the AIDS/STD programme.
In sum the
Bangladesh AIDS Prevention and Control Programme will be hinged
on a Tripartite coalition where the NAC will be acting as the
advisory body, MOH&FW as the executing body and DGSH as the
implementing body. |
