The beleaguered Rohingya refugees fleeing for the brutal torture of the Myanmar army are now rising deeper concern for Bangladesh. This concern is about the deadly diseases AIDS and tuberculosis. Among the refugees living in the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar, 413 new HIV(AIDS) cases have been detected and 7372 TB patients have been identified.
Although this information was obtained after examination in the hospital, the government thinks that it is several times more than the real picture. This information was also given in a summary of a meeting recently sent to the Ministry of Finance from the UN Wing of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Sources said that the number of AIDS patients given is all living in Rohingya camps. Tests revealed the presence of HIV after he fell ill and went to the hospital for treatment.
The number of HIV-infected Rohingyas living in refugee camps who are not receiving treatment or undergoing any kind of test will be several times higher.
Because 50 percent of people living with HIV do not know that they have the disease.Those who know, do not take more than one-third of their treatment. In addition, tuberculosis is contagious. Chronic and complex medical procedures are needed to get rid of it.It can also be fatal if not treated properly.
The non-governmental organization Light House is working with AIDS patients in Rohingya camps.Grener Marak, the team leader in charge of the organization’s camp, said their organization conducts preliminary screening for HIV testing of women who are working or being used as sex workers in Rohingya camps.
According to their estimates, 1,380 patients were tested in 2019, of whom 765 tested positive for HIV (early stage of HIV). The lighthouse official said about 62 percent of Rohingya living in Rohingya camps are women and girls.As a result, their sexual relations with the locals are increasing. This is creating a massive threat in Bangladesh. He stresses that the locals are spreading this deadly disease among their wives and children through the Rohingyas.
Concerned people said that the Rohingyas’ sexual relations with many people in Bangladesh have created a very dangerous situation at present. In pursuit of their livelihood, Rohingya women have resorted to sex trade in different areas including Cox’s Bazar and Chittagong. As a result, the disease is spreading.Children are also being infected through husband and wife. But the biggest risk is that Rohingya refugees are spreading across the country. Apart from Cox’s Bazar and Chittagong, they are also living in disguise in the capital Dhaka for various crimes.This is the riskiest.
According to the concerned, Rohingyas have brought the AIDS virus from Myanmar. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of infected people in Myanmar is over two and a half million.And eight out of every thousand people are HIV positive. As a result, this deadly disease is creating terrible concerns and risks for Bangladesh as well. However, UNICEF says that the number of AIDS patients in Bangladesh is 0.1 percent of the total population.While this is not too much, the number of new patients is increasing.
December 1 was World AIDS Day. According to the report released by the National AIDS / STD Program of the Department of Health of the Government of Bangladesh on that day, 919 people were newly infected with the virus in 2019.As a result, the total estimated number of AIDS cases in Bangladesh stands at 14,000, up from 13,000 last year.
According to the sources, 169 AIDS patients were found in Cox’s Bazar from 2012 to October 2017. 64 of them were Rohingya. In 2016, the number of AIDS patients was 455.According to data provided by the HIV Treatment Center and Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) at Cox’s Bazar District Hospital last December, the number of HIV infections in the entire district has risen to 553.In other words, in the last one year alone, 97 more people have been infected with this deadly disease in Cox’s Bazar. Among the injured, 325 are being treated at Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital, 122 at Ukhia Health Complex Hospital and 108 at PMTCT run by UNICEF.
The number of HIV infections doubled in 2011 compared to 2001. But people are still reluctant to get tested and treated for the disease, even though the government is providing these services for free.
Efforts to stop the spread of HIV have been delayed due to inadequate programs. More than 80 percent of the people have not yet been reached. Ordinary people have very little idea about the disease. Despite the risk of an AIDS epidemic, funding for HIV prevention, treatment and services is declining. As a result, doctors think that achieving the goal of eradicating AIDS in Bangladesh by 2030 may be hampered.
