AIDS prevention: Responsibility of a responsible man      (November 28)
By Seram Neken Singh

"I know about AIDS, how it is transmitted and how it is not. I know how to protect my family, the generation and myself. Therefore, I take care by following the necessary norms and by spreading the knowledge and information about this disease to others without hesitation. I also take care of people who are infected with the HIV so that they are not discriminated and looked down upon and they live well as others...do you? This is the claim of a responsible person of the society who is fully aware of the impending consequences of the AIDS epidemic that has killed and affected many young and innocent people all over the world.

When every male member of the society makes this claim, AIDS will no longer be a matter of great concern as it is today. According to the reports of National Aids Control Organization; Manipur has 997 AIDS cases against the all India figure of 28,215 at the end of September 2001. Manipur with hardly 0.2% of India's population is sharing 8% of the country's HIV positive cases. Asper a joint UNAID/NACO report published in December 1998, the number of HIV infections in the state is a little more than 38,000. Official records of Manipur AIDS Control Society up to October this year say that 12,239 persons including 1609 women in Manipur are HIV infected and 193 have died of AIDS. The sero-positivity rate per 1000 blood samples screened is as high as 156,37. These are the cases whose blood samples are tested for HIV antibody.

Many people in the state are carrying the virus unknowingly and they may be spreading it to others unaware. Many people have died of AIDS undiagnosed and unreported. Earlier the epidemic in Manipur was confined to risk like Injecting Drug Users. Now it has spread to the general people. Many young and innocent housewives have been widowed. Newborns get the virus from their parents. We have witnessed AIDS related orphans. Every section of people, every corner of the state has felt the scourge of AIDS. If we let the epidemic go unchecked and neglected, our next generation will be lost. Therefore, everyone should pay attention to this deadly malaise.

Now, the question is "What to do? What shall I do to protect my wife and children? What shall I do to protect the next generation? Who can save us, who can protect us?" The answer is man can make a difference. Men as brothers, husbands, fathers, doctors, teachers, politicians and non- professionals have a great responsibility in solving the problem of AIDS. HIV infections and AIDS death in men outnumber those of women everywhere except the sub-Saharan Africa. Men under 25 years make up a quarter of the 36.1 million people currently living with HIV/AIDS.

Men tend to have more sex partners than women thereby increasing their and their partners` risk of contracting HIV. Men who go away for months for work may pay for sex and use substances like alcohol to cope with stress and solitude. In all male environments like military and prisons, men may go for unsafe sex even with the same sex. This is deadly. Over 70% of HIV infections worldwide occur through sex between men and women, 10% through sex between men. Another 5% take place among people who inject drugs, four fifth of whom are males. The stigma, secrecy and shame relating to AIDS may prevent many men and women from exposing their status. This may be a cause for the silent spread of the disease.

Male violence including sexual abuse against women may help increase the spread of the virus. According to a UNICEF report, at least one in three women are beaten, sexually assaulted or abused worldwide. Displacement of communities by wars and civil conflicts heighten the magnitude of the epidemic in communities. More men than women indulge in drug injecting habits thereby exposing themselves to HIV infection. Therefore, the world AIDS campaigns 2000 and 2001 have emphasized the role of men particularly young men in the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS. And this year's slogan for world AIDS campaign is I care ... do you?

That means, when men take care of themselves, their wives and children, family members, their friends, their State, nation and country, the epidemic of AIDS will be easily contained. Men can care of their lives, wives and children by not bringing HIV into their families. They can do so by not indulging in sex with strangers, by always using condoms for sexual acts, with strangers, by injecting drugs, by not sharing needles with other and by accepting only the HIV tested blood transfusion. Men should educate their wives, children and friends about sexuality, HIV/AIDS, STDs etc. and should encourage them to attend AIDS programs.

Men as fathers have the responsibility to see their children know the facts about HIV and AIDS. They should be informed about its spread and protection and taught the way they should take care for people living with HIV/AIDS. As brothers in the family, men have to convince their sisters and brothers about the dangers of having sex with strangers and the need for the voluntary pre marital HIV testing and delay sex till marriage. As faithful husbands in the family, men should not indulge in extra marital sex. Men should not indulge in extra marital sex. Men should insist on using condoms under special circumstances. Men should educate their wives about AIDS and encourage them to attend AIDS programs.

As teachers, men should se that their students are well aware of AIDS and should be encouraged to support AIDS controls programs. As health workers or doctors, men have to advice their clients/parents not to share contaminated syringes and needles with others and not to accept untested blood for transfusion. As politicians, men have to reflect the political will of their parties for prevention and control of HIV/AIDS through election manifestos. They have to see that the National AIDS control program is properly implemented. Lastly as a responsible citizen of the State every man has to know AIDS and make everybody known it. I have to care you too.

(Courtesy: The Sangai Express)

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