BMS World Mission workers Fiona and Les Allen have been in Bangladesh since 2006. They now work at the Christian Hospital Chandraghona. Fiona works in nutrition and health promotion and Les provides administrative support to the hospital's director. Here they write about an important health issue for Bangladesh:
Over the past year, the community health programme (CHP) of Christian Hospital Chandraghona, has been focusing on HIV and Aids prevention.
At present, Bangladesh has a very low rate of HIV and Aids, but is surrounded by countries with much higher infection rates.
As Bangladesh is a conservative society, the discussion of sexual matters is difficult and awareness of sexually transmitted diseases is poor.
However, there are a number of groups of people within the country who are at risk of contracting HIV - particularly migrant workers, transport workers, drug users and prostitutes.
The CHP ran a series of events and programmes throughout 2008 to raise awareness of this important issue. Both the general population and high-risk groups were targeted, to ensure that a wide range of people have a better understanding of HIV and Aids.
To reach the wider community, the CHP asked their village health workers to undertake house-to-house and group health education.
In addition, a number of street plays were staged in bazaars, at melas (fairs) and at other special events. On World Aids Day alone (1 December 2008), 500 people saw these plays.
World Aids Day also included a rally, speeches and a discussion forum in collaboration with the local government health centre and other NGOs.
To engage with high-risk groups, a totally different strategy was used. Focus group discussions were held to identify current knowledge, educate participants and encourage them to tell others.
Each participant received leaflets and stickers containing simple HIV and Aids messages. The stickers can still be seen adorning many of the local rickshaws, baby taxis and shops.
The hospital has also had an important role in educating the churches of Bangladesh about HIV and Aids, through their collaboration with the Christian Medical Association of Bangladesh and the National Council of Churches.
Furthermore, at the beginning of November 2008, some of the CHP team went to Delhi to participate in a HIV and Aids conference organised by south Asian churches.
Although the year of focus on HIV and Aids is coming to an end, the CHP will continue to educate people about the disease.
With such low rates of infection, it would be easy for Bangladesh to become complacent about HIV and Aids. Yet, this issue needs to be taken seriously to prevent the epidemics seen in neighbouring countries.