nepal: hiv infection compounds poverty in nepal

CDC HIV/AIDS/Viral Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update NEPAL: HIV Infection Compounds Poverty in Nepal Naresh Newar
April 25, 2012

Inter Press Service (04.11.12) - Wednesday, April 25, 2012 Nepal's 2011 census reported that among its 26.7 million people, 2 million work abroad - many in neighboring India, which is home to 2.5 million HIV-positive people and a hub for sex workers recruited from Nepal. Nepal's 2010 progress report for the UN Millennium Development Goals predicts the nation will reach the target of lowering the poverty rate 21 percent by 2015. The report also says Nepal has succeeded in stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS. Yet in western Nepal, where at least half the population lives below the poverty line, the reality is different, especially for women in villages like Rakam Kranali. Family Health International's 2004 report "Women and HIV/AIDS - Experiences and Consequences of Stigma and Discrimination - Nepal" found HIV-positive women were denied access to household resources. Women with HIV often are stigmatized as immoral and blamed as spreaders of the virus. The few remote villages with voluntary counseling and testing centers "are so poorly run that they hardly make a difference" for the women, said Ganashyam Bhandari of the HIV/AIDS Alliance. Many women cannot afford to travel to one of Nepal's 13 centers capable of measuring CD4 cell counts; most of these are in cities. Community social worker Rani Devi Bohara blames persistent stigma against women traumatized by infection, social ostracism, and poverty on an apathetic government and a society "unwilling to change." She notes that antiretrovirals are needed, plus psychological counseling for patients and families, income generation support, and welfare programs. "We have no choice but to try and survive somehow," said the leader of a group of HIV-positive widows. "The government is not going to help us."

Most Read: Latest Added Related Topics White House LGBT Conference on HIV/AIDS UNITED STATES: White House in Atlanta: LGBT AIDS Conference No more single-theme conferences: global HIV prevention conference planned FHI 360 Senior Scientist Lut Van Damme Receives International Microbicide Conference Lifetime Achievement Award Equatorial Guinea Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and UNICEF Refute Erroneous AIDS Prevalence Figures Photographs from A Day with HIV Now Online Bulgaria urges Libya to investigate AIDS nurses case Engineers enter fight against AIDS in Africa Gilead’s Complera® Non-Inferior to Atripla® Among Treatment-Naive HIV Patients UN chief Ban calls world leaders to end Aids by 2020 OHIO: Phila Health Department HIV Testing Well-Received CONNECTICUT: City's Circle Care Center is a Model for HIV Prevention UNITED STATES: New Compound Excels at Killing Persistent and Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis INDIA: India Faces TB Drug Shortage, Warns International Medical Org ALASKA: After Topping List for Chlamydia Rates, Alaska Seeing Some Improvement Tanzania: Police Abuse, Torture, Impede HIV Services Growing HIV/AIDS awareness in Indonesia's Papua region South Africa: Catastrophe as Eastern Cape drug stock-outs continue Community-led programmes critical to progress on AIDS in Sri Lanka One in Four Surveyed EU5 Physicians Has Been Required to Change a Prescription for Some or Most of Their HIV Patients in the Past Twelve Months, Primarily to Reduce Costs OHIO: Phila Health Department HIV Testing Well-Received CONNECTICUT: City's Circle Care Center is a Model for HIV Prevention UNITED STATES: New Compound Excels at Killing Persistent and Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis TAIWAN: HIV/AIDS Spreading to Younger People in Taiwan FLORIDA: Groups Offering Free HIV Testing INDIA: HIV Prevention Among Female Sex Workers in India Reduces HIV and Syphilis Tanzania: Police Abuse, Torture, Impede HIV Services Growing HIV/AIDS awareness in Indonesia's Papua region US program marks birth of one millionth HIV-free baby One in Four Surveyed EU5 Physicians Has Been Required to Change a Prescription for Some or Most of Their HIV Patients in the Past Twelve Months, Primarily to Reduce Costs
Copyright © 2012 -CDC Prevention News Update, Publisher. All rights reserved to Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD. The CDC National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention provides the following information as a public service only. Providing synopses of key scientific articles and lay media reports on HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases and tuberculosis does not constitute CDC endorsement. This daily update also includes information from CDC and other government agencies, such as background on Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) articles, fact sheets, press releases and announcements. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC HIV/STD/TB Prevention News Update should be cited as the source of the information. Contact the sources of the articles abstracted below for full texts of the articles. Information in this article was accurate in April 25, 2012. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.