Topic started by Marius (@ ti511210a000-0216.dialup.online.no) on Mon Jul 28 11:37:15 .
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

I read somewhere that there are over 4 million with aids in India - any thought as to the reason of this? Is talking about this disease a taboo?

Responses:

• From: Ramadas (@ dclient217-162-114-95.hispeed.ch) on: Mon Jul 28 13:32:47 EDT 2003
  
  it is better to count how many are without aids that with aids. it will be a lesser number and easier to count.
  
  
• From: Marius (@ ti511210a000-0165.dialup.online.no) on: Mon Jul 28 13:39:44 EDT 2003
  
  In a smaller country like for instance Norway this would be the entire population...
  
  
• From: Ramadas (@ dclient217-162-114-95.hispeed.ch) on: Mon Jul 28 14:09:55 EDT 2003
  
  Marius,
  Then they have to take away the "r" from your countries name?
  
  
• From: Karuvayan (@ cs2417534-176.austin.rr.com) on: Mon Jul 28 14:27:07 EDT 2003
  
  There are 4.5 million people with HIV in india. That is about 0.5% of the poulation of 1027 million. It is the second highest percentage in the world next to South Africa where 11% of the population has AIDS.
  
  84.3% of the AIDS patients acquired HIV through se*xual transmission. 13% through pregnant mothers who carried the virus and the rest through intravenous drug abuse.
  
  There has been some good news though. The number of AIDS cases has more or less reached a plateau in south India, especially in Tamil Nadu - mainly because South India is more literate and adavanced than the north. Recently the Tamil Nadu government has introduced hygeine and health care on a cumplosory basis in all schools with emphasis on girls and women's health.
  
  AntiRetroviral drugs are available in India. Most of them are manufactured by Indian pharmaceutical companies. But the problem is that the government does not subsidise the drugs - which actually makes them costlier in india than in Africa (where the drug is exported to by Indian companies).
  
  Now, compare India to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka invested in an excellent public health and hygeine system in the 50s, 60s and 70s. It has the best public healthcare system in south asia and hence the second highest human development (next to Maldives - the most developed country in South Asia)
  
  One of the other hurdles is a conservative attitude towards discussing issues related to se*xual practices. One foreign observer commented that India, in it's past had the most liberal attitude towards se*x but is now in the Victorian age.
  
  (P.S - I am also majoring in Bioinformatics which is why I keep myself abreast of health care issues especially in India).
  
  

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