Research Paper on HIV Issue in India

Introduction

HIV/AIDS is an epidemic that continues to affect millions of people globally. The World Health Organization together with other support groups continues to advance efforts to reduce the spread of HIV and also provide medical and financial help to the victims. Despite these efforts, HIV has not been contained with new statistics revealing that new infections are on the rise particularly in Sub Saharan Africa and South East Asia. The worrying trend about HIV is a puzzle that is yet to be uncovered since the efforts by governments, and other non-governmental organizations are not bearing fruits. India is a country that is significantly affected by the HIV endemic. Government sources indicate that over 2.4 million people are living with HIV in India. The spread of HIV in India is concentrated to a few states mainly the industrialized west, south, and northeast. The spread of HIV in India is heterogeneous with adults representing a greater percentage and with 30% being women. The spread of HIV in India can be explained with some factors and the socio-economic setup of the country. However, analyzing the political, economic framework of India will help us understand the issue of HIV and how it either influences the spread of this endemic.

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The political-economic system in India influences a lot of things as far as economic development, and public health is concerned. India is a country whose population is only second to China which means that the government has a lot to do when it comes to serving its large population. The larger population contributes to the high number of HIV cases in the country. The government politics influence this endemic has it determines what the government is doing towards the eradication and prevention of new infections. Different governments that have occupied office have tried their best to address the problem. However, the lack of goodwill from the public, poverty, and culture drags the efforts to deal with the issue. The political class in India have been accused of doing less towards the eradication of HIV in the country. Ever since the National AIDS Control Program (NACP) was established in 1986, there have been significant developments in the sector with further programs being brought forward to help in the fight against HIV (Rai et al., 2014). The program has been able to implement measures that help to prevent the spread of HIV and also create an awareness within the population. Despite the role of government politics in initiating programs, the challenge of scaling up the effectiveness of the program, combating stigma, involving other partners and enhancing safe behavior is still affecting government politics (Ganju & Saggurti, 2017). At the point when the government will address these challenges, then the issue of HIV will be almost eliminated.

The economic dynamics of India has had a greater impact on the issue of HIV. Economics refers to the ability of the population to earn a decent living and afford social needs. One of the issues that face India is poverty and unemployment. The government of India is unable to provide for all its citizens, and the majority of the population lack meaningful work. The economic problems affecting the population has led to a rise of social challenges which has influenced the spread of HIV. In areas with the highest prevalence of HIV, cases of prostitution, drug abuse, and crime are on the rise. The disregard for HIV awareness in these areas contributes to high spread and deaths from the epidemic (Steward et al., 2013). These problems could be addressed through economic empowerment that will prevent people from engaging in activities that put them at risk of contracting HIV. The economic empowerment would further help the population to be aware of the dangers of the disease and the appropriate measures to follow to stop the spread of the epidemic. As long as the government is doing little to address the economic well-being of its citizens, epidemics such as HIV will continue to affect the country (Steward et al., 2013). Poverty and lack of a working population could worsen the situation as it is currently being witnessed in India. The path towards combating new infections and keeping the current population active can only be achieved through economic transformation.

Power hierarchy of gender is common in India due to cultural factors. The issue of HIV in India leans mostly on women who are at a higher risk of contracting new infections. Majority of the people in power are men with women being left behind when it comes to issues of governance. The power hierarchy has neglected the issues affecting women since they care less on health issues affecting women (Solomon et al., 2014). Despite the greater milestones that have been achieved in India's health sector, the rising cases of new infections particularly to women should be blamed on power hierarchy. There is still a gender gap inequality issues, and women tend to suffer more from the decisions made by those in power. It is for this reason why there are still cases of children being born with HIV due to the laxity of the political class to implement policies and changes that could bring an end to maternal HIV infections (Solomon et al., 2014). The power hierarchy has also sidelined women when it comes to issues of economic involvement. The fact that women still engage in prostitution which puts them at risk of HIV shows how these disparities do not favor women. Despite the progress on equality issues, there is still more that can be done to address the problem.

The Indian caste system has created classes that have made it hard for people to get out of poverty. The caste system creates different classes of people primarily on economic status. The ruling class is usually considered to be at the top while the poor and other peasants are concentrated on the lower end of the caste system. As such, these social classes have created disparities between people. These disparities have allowed HIV to expand and new infections being recorded year in year out. The existence of these classes has had a social impact on the poor who are marginalized (Isaakidis et al., 2014). The marginalization from the Indian government has seen these groups of people not receiving government services or being given a priority on any major projects undertaken by the government (Rai et al., 2014). The ruling class continues to neglect the poor and the rich are doing less to uplift people from poverty and reduce the reduction of HIV. As long as these classes exist and are supported by the society, it would be difficult to address the problem of poverty fully. The issues surrounding HIV can all be linked to poverty whose impact extends to other issues in the society.

The other political issue that touches on the issue of HIV in India is sexual orientation. There is diversity on the issue of sexual orientation with the population being made up of LGBT communities. Indian society has not passed legislation and policies that offer support to these groups. As such, they are discriminated and in other cases subjected to violence. The Indian culture does not support these groups despite their engagement in sexual activities (Badgett, 2014). In most cases, these people hide between their orientation and being straight. As such, they are at high risk of contracting HIV. They also play an integral role in the spread of HIV. Since they hide from the public, their activities remain undercover as they fear being discriminated an in other cases subjected to public shaming (Badgett, 2014). The government is finding it hard to reach out to these groups since they are not willing to come out and disclose their identities. These issues have sidelined the LGBT community from government health services. The lack of access to healthcare services means that these groups lack knowledge on how to protect themselves from HIV (Badgett, 2014). The fact that they are not involved in the planning and implementation of measures to address the problem increases the prevalence of HIV among these groups. Unless the society openly accepts these groups by respecting diversity, the issue of HIV would still prove to be a challenge to these groups.

India is not new to conflicts as there are areas that continue to be affected by conflicts. The lawlessness that exists in some parts of India is a contributor to the spread of HIV. The religious conflicts and clashes have seen many people injured and the rise in rape cases. The recent case of gang rapes has left many women and children with HIV, some of these cases go unreported (Ganju & Saggurti, 2017). As long as the country still finds it hard to address conflicts that are shifting to other parts, it would even be hard to provide aid and help to the victims. These regions marred with conflicts have lower literacy levels something that makes people negligent on the need to observe the right behavior. Illiteracy is to cases of new infections since people lack knowledge on the dangers of HIV and what can be done to prevent the spread. There is still low awareness on the issue of HIV in conflict zones and the atrocities committed by those in conflict promote unsafe sex, rape, drug abuse and disregard for personal health. The parties that are in conflict often use sex as a weapon and subject women to torture and psychological trauma. Some of these women are trapped within the conflict are either enslaved for the purposes of supplying sex to rebels. These conditions further expose the risk which can then be transferred to other regions when these people leave the conflict areas. There is a need to address the issue of conflict or create an awareness about HIV in a bid to reduce new infections and encourage people to be concerned about their health.

Conclusion

In conclusion, India is still grappling with challenges of solving its economic issues and poverty reduction. These challenges have affected resource allocation towards health problems that continue to affect millions of people. In as far as other organizations are coming in to help in the fight against HIV, cultural practices and sociopolitical environment still proves to be a challenge in the fight against HIV. The conflicts being witnessed, prostitution, crime, and lower literacy levels are some of the factors that are dragging the efforts of dealing with HIV. These challenges are making it hard to realize the goals of a free society that is void of HIV. The diversity brought about by sexual orientation continues to be condemned subjecting members of these groups to discrimination that denies them access to health services. Even as other countries continue to implement measures to prevent the spread of HIV, India has to seek out its political-economic system to be able to deal with challenges that lead to the epidemic.

References

Badgett, M. V. (2014). The economic cost of stigma and the exclusion of LGBT people: a case study of India.

Ganju, D., & Saggurti, N. (2017). Stigma, violence and HIV vulnerability among transgender persons in sex work in Maharashtra, India. Culture, health & sexuality, 19(8), 903-917.

Isaakidis, P., Das, M., Kumar, A. M., Peskett, C., Khetarpal, M., Bamne, A., ... & Kanchar, A. (2014). Alarming levels of drug-resistant tuberculosis in HIV-infected patients in metropolitan Mumbai, India. PloS one, 9(10), e110461.

Rai, T., Lambert, H. S., Borquez, A. B., Saggurti, N., Mahapatra, B., & Ward, H. (2014). Circular labor migration and HIV in India: Exploring heterogeneity in bridge populations connecting areas of high and low HIV infection prevalence. The Journal of infectious diseases, 210(suppl_2), S556-S561.

Solomon, S., Chakraborty, A., Yepthomi, R. D. S., & Detels, R. (2004). A review of the HIV epidemic in India. AIDS Education and Prevention, 16(Supplement A), 155-169.

Steward, W....