Focus more on HIV/AIDS

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BANGLADESH needs to be alert against the vulnerability to spread of HIV/AIDS from across the border. In India, the number of HIV/AIDS patients is increasing. Not only our geographical location, but also free movement of people make us vulnerable, because Bangladesh shares a long border with India.
Our past experience shows that we have to take additional programmes or spend more to check the long borders for the purpose. Any unexpected situation in India had effected us first. For example, we can say about eradication of polio. Bangladesh has to spend millions of taka for polio vaccination every year until India is declared polio-free.
In recent years, the movement of the people between the two countries has increased following an improvement in communications. So it is now necessary to pay more attention on awareness creation against HIV/AIDS. We feel the urgency looking at African countries where hundreds of children became orphans and also HIV positive, because of their parents. To prevent a situation like that, it is also necessary to introduce medical checkup system at all the border points.
Mainul Islam
Maghbazar
Dhaka