Health and Family Welfare minister Zahid Maleaque on Sunday said testing services of human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) would be available in the country by 2020. He said introduction of the services would assure detection of the deadly disease through screening the virus at an early stage.
“The government would make the HIV/AIDS testing services available across the country by 2020 while most of the people with HIV are unaware about their infection. The only way to determine a person’s HIV status is for them to have an HIV test. Early diagnosis and treatment can help people not to transmit the virus to others,” he said.
The minister said this while speaking as the chief guest at a discussion to mark ‘The World AIDs Day’ today at Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB) in the city’s Farmgate area, said a press release. “The risk of the deadly disease, AIDS, is still prevailing in the country due to geographical location, unawareness, uncontrolled behavior of the vulnerable section of the people and fallacy among the people,” he said.
Zahid called upon all for maintaining the conventional, religious, social and family discipline to control or prevent the HIV. The government is committed to bring down the rate of HIV into zero percent from the current less than 0.01 percent by 2030, he added. Director General of Health Services Dr Abul Kalam Azad presided over the programme while Secretary of the ministry M Asadul Islam, HIV focal person and Additional Secretary Rina Parveen, UNFPA Bangladesh representative Dr Asa Torkelsson, WHO country representative Dr Mia Sapal spoke, among others.
