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Bangladesh has maintained a low HIV prevalence (of less than 1%) despite multiple risk factors. However, recent serological surveillance data have reported very high levels of HIV infection among a subgroup of male injecting drug-users (IDUs). This suggests that an HIV/AIDS epidemic could be imminent in Bangladesh. Although biomedical and behavioural change projects are important, they do not address the root causes of observed risky behaviours among 'high-risk' groups. In Bangladesh, these groups include sex workers, IDUs, males who have sex with males, and the transgender population--hijra--who are all excluded groups. Using a social exclusion framework, this paper analyzed existing literature on HIV in Bangladesh to identify social, economic and legal forces that heighten the vulnerability of such excluded groups to HIV/AIDS. It found that poverty and bias against women are major exclusionary factors. The paper presents areas for research and for policy action so that the social exclusion of high-risk groups can be reduced, their rights protected, and an HIV epidemic averted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the food and malnutrition issues have taken centre stage within the arena of HIV/AIDS epidemic, with several calls being made for context-specific health and nutrition interventions to deal with the emerging food insecurity and malnutrition issues in settings with high burdens of HIV/AIDS. The use of probiotics as nutritional supplements in HIV/AIDS-affected and resource-poor settings has also been advocated. This paper presents the results of a qualitative study on community knowledge and perceptions about probiotics and their potential impact on people's everyday life in the context of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In-depth interviews (n=26) were conducted with residents in Mwanza, Tanzania. The results showed that people living with HIV/AIDS, who were using probiotic yogurt produced through a joint partnership of Western Heads East, Tanzania Medical Research Institute and the Tukwamune Women's Group, reported perceived beneficial effects, such as gain in weight and improved health and well-being. Yet, these beneficial effects might be resulting in growing misconceptions about probiotic yogurt being 'medicine' for the treatment of HIV/AIDS; this is leading some people living with HIV/AIDS to abandon taking their antiretroviral medications based on the view that the probiotic yogurt is making them feel much better. The findings illustrate the potential challenges with regard to the introduction of nutritional food supplements into new contexts plagued by malnutrition and infectious diseases. Public-health education and awareness programmes are needed when introducing novel foods into such contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents findings on sexual risk behaviours of Liberian youths based on five focus-group discussions conducted with 6th and 7th graders (n=36) attending an elementary/middle school in Monrovia, Liberia. The purpose of the focus-group discussions was to gain an understanding of the sexual behaviours of in-school Liberian adolescents. The focus-group discussions were part of a larger study to adapt an evidence-based HIV-prevention intervention--Making Proud Choices!--for in-school youths. Post-conflict conditions were discussed as a contributor to the emergence of high-risk sexual behaviours, including transactional sex, sexual violence, and lack of condom-use. Transactional sex was often described by the focus-group participants as occurring between young females and older, more financially-secure males to obtain cash, food, clothing, western commodities, and school-fees and was often encouraged by parents and promoted by peers. The findings also indicate that female adolescents make choices to engage in transactional sex to gain access to a continuum of material and consumer needs. These findings suggest that individual risk-taking behaviours are nested within complex sexual economies and that HIV-prevention interventions should be considered that leverage females' agency and control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the clinical features of a series of patients admitted to the specialist HIV/AIDS unit (Jagori) of the Dhaka Hospital, ICDDR,B (International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh) during May 2008-February 2010. Data were collected from a review of documents and electronic case-records and collation of laboratory results with respect to CD4 counts. One hundred and nine patients were admitted during this period. Their mean age was 33.4 years, and 62% were male. On admission, the mean CD4 count±standard deviation (SD) was 244±245 (range 2-1,549). The death rate was 12%. The patients were classified as World Health Organization clinical stage 1: 23%, stage 2: 30%, stage 3: 23%, and stage 4: 24% during the admission. The commonest diagnosis recorded was tuberculosis (TB) (23%), which was also the commonest cause of death (38%). Even for those clinicians with limited experience of managing AIDS cases, the commonest problem encountered in this patient group was TB, reflecting the continued high burden of TB on health services in Bangladesh. Additional challenges to managing TB/HIV co-infection include atypical presentations in HIV-infected persons and the complex drug interaction with antiretroviral therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transgender people (hijra), who claim to be neither male nor female, are socially excluded in Bangladesh. This paper describes social exclusion of hijra [The term is used in this abstract both in singular and plural sense] focusing on the pathway between exclusion and sexual health. In an ethnographic study, 50 in-depth interviews with hijra, 20 key-informant interviews, and 10 focus-group discussions (FGDs), along with extensive field observations, were conducted. The findings revealed that hijra are located at the extreme margin of exclusion having no sociopolitical space where a hijra can lead life of a human being with dignity. Their deprivations are grounded in non-recognition as a separate gendered human being beyond the male-female dichotomy. Being outside this norm has prevented them from positioning themselves in greater society with human potential and security. They are physically, verbally, and sexually abused. Extreme social exclusion diminishes self-esteem and sense of social responsibility. Before safer sex interventions can be effective in a broader scale, hijra need to be recognized as having a space on society's gender continuum. Hijra, as the citizens of Bangladesh and part of society's diversity, have gender, sexual and citizenship rights, that need to be protected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bangladesh initiated an early response to the HIV epidemic starting in the mid-1980s. Since then, the response has been enhanced considerably, and many HIV-prevention interventions among the most at-risk populations and the general youth are being undertaken. Alongside prevention activities, gathering of data has been a key activity fostered by both the Government and individual development partners. This paper reviews available sources of data, including routine surveillance (HIV and behavioural among most at-risk populations), general population surveys, and various research studies with the aim to understand the dynamics of the HIV epidemic in Bangladesh. Available data show that the HIV epidemic is still at relatively low levels and is concentrated mainly among injecting drug users (IDUs) in Dhaka city. In addition, when the passively-reported cases were analyzed, another population group that appears to be especially vulnerable is migrant workers who leave their families and travel abroad for work. However, all sources of data confirm that risk behaviours that make individuals vulnerable to HIV are high--this is apparent within most at-risk populations and the general population (adult males and youth males and females). Based on the current activities and the sources of data, modelling exercises of the future of the HIV epidemic in Dhaka suggest that, if interventions are not enhanced further, Bangladesh is likely to start with an IDU-driven epidemic, similar to other neighbouring countries, which will then move to other population groups, including sex workers, males who have sex with males, clients of sex workers, and ultimately their families. This review reiterates the often repeated message that if Bangladesh wants to be an example of how to avert an HIV epidemic, it needs to act now using evidence-based programming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diarrhoea was estimated to account for 18% of the estimated 10.6 million deaths of children aged less than five years annually in 2003. Two--Africa and South-East Asia--of the six regions of the World Health Organization accounted for approximately 40% and 31% of these deaths respectively, or almost three-quarters of the global annual deaths of children aged less than five years attributable to diarrhoea. Much of the effort to roll out low-osmolarity oral rehydration solution (ORS) and supplementation of zinc for the management of diarrhoea accordingly is being devoted to sub-Saharan Africa and to South and South-East Asia. A number of significant differences exist in diarrhoea-treatment behaviours and challenges of the public-health systems between Africa and Asia. The differences in rates of ORS use are the most common indicator of treatment of diarrhoea and vary dramatically by and within region and may significantly influence the roll-out strategy for zinc and low-osmolarity ORS. The prevalence of HIV/AIDS and the endemi-city of malaria also differ greatly between regions; both the diseases consume the attention and financial commitment of public-health programmes in regions where rates are high. This paper examined how these differences could affect the context for the introduction of zinc and low-osmolarity ORS at various levels, including the process of policy dialogue with local decision-makers, questions to be addressed in formative research, implementation approaches, and strategies for behaviour-change communication and training of health workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diarrhoea was estimated to account for 18% of the estimated 10.6 million deaths of children aged less than five years annually in 2003. Two--Africa and South-East Asia--of the six regions of the World Health Organization accounted for approximately 40% and 31% of these deaths respectively, or almost three-quarters of the global annual deaths of children aged less than five years attributable to diarrhoea. Much of the effort to roll out low-osmolarity oral rehydration solution (ORS) and supplementation of zinc for the management of diarrhoea accordingly is being devoted to sub-Saharan Africa and to South and South-East Asia. A number of significant differences exist in diarrhoea-treatment behaviours and challenges of the public-health systems between Africa and Asia. The differences in rates of ORS use are the most common indicator of treatment of diarrhoea and vary dramatically by and within region and may significantly influence the roll-out strategy for zinc and low-osmolarity ORS. The prevalence of HIV/AIDS and the endemi-city of malaria also differ greatly between regions; both the diseases consume the attention and financial commitment of public-health programmes in regions where rates are high. This paper examined how these differences could affect the context for the introduction of zinc and low-osmolarity ORS at various levels, including the process of policy dialogue with local decision-makers, questions to be addressed in formative research, implementation approaches, and strategies for behaviour-change communication and training of health workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Optimal nutrition is a determinant of health in all persons. In persons living with HIV (PLHIV), nutrition is particularly important. Various factors, including dietary practices, play a role in guaranteeing nutritional health.Objectives: We investigated multiple non-prescription drugs use among HIV-positive persons receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) from four treatment centers in southern Ghana. This paper, however, focuses on nutrient supplement use, food elimination, and food substitution practices by the PLHIV.Methods: Using quantitative and qualitative methods, we collected data from 540 HIV-positive persons at the health facility level. This paper focuses on only the quantitative data. Individual study participants were selected using a systematic random sampling procedure. Participants were interviewed after informed consent. We used univariate analysis to generate descriptive tabulations for key variables. Multivariable logistic regression modeling identified predictors of three practices (nutrient supplementation, food elimination, and food substitution). P value less than 0.05 or 95% confidence intervals facilitated determination of statistical significance. All analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 20.0.Results: The use of nutrient supplements was a popular practice; 72% of the PLHIV used various kinds. The primary motive for the practice was to boost appetite and to gain weight. A little over 20% of the participants reportedly eliminated certain foods and beverages, while 17% introduced new foods since their initial HIV diagnosis. All the three practices were largely driven by the quest for improved health status. We determined predictors of nutrient supplementation to be ART clinic location and having an ART adherence monitor. Having an ART adherence monitor was significantly associated with reduced odds of nutrient supplementation (AOR = 0.34; 95% CI 0.12-0.95). The only predictor for food elimination was education level (AOR = 0.29; 95% CI 0.30-0.92); predictors of food substitution were ART clinic location (AOR = 0.11; 95% CI 0.02-0.69) and anemia (defined as hemoglobin concentration less than 11.0 g/dl) (AOR = 0.21; 95% CI 0.12-0.85).Conclusions: The practice of supplementation is popular among this group of PLHIV. Food elimination and substitution are practiced, albeit in moderation. The predictors identified may prove helpful in provider-client encounters as well as local HIV programming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]