Bangalore, Sept 27, 2017:The spike in condom use has led to the decrease in HIV/Aids cases in Bangalore.
Bhupendra, Customer Executive at Indiastat, a website that provides statistics from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said that from 2016-2017, there were 47, 12, 000 condoms distributed in Karnataka. There’s a 1.7 per cent increase in condom use compared to last year. “Among every ten thousand, 420 people use condoms,” he said.
The average of that in Bangalore’s population of 8 million would amount to 3, 53, 892 users. Dr. Lohit, a prominent sexologist in Bangalore, said that the number would absolutely be much higher due to awareness being high in the city.
Dr. Asha TH, the head of DAPCU (District AIDS Prevention Control Unit) in Bangalore, said, “We used to record 400-450 HIV/AIDS cases every month until last year. Now, it has come down to 200-250 every month.”
Dr. Lohit said, “I used to come across 4 or 5 cases every month until a year ago, but now I rarely see them. Once in a while, I encounter a case or two.”
The reason for this decrease is said to be the rise in awareness programs. “We go to schools and colleges to give extensive lectures and raise awareness among the youth. We concentrate on the adolescents, so that they grow up with the right mindset,”said Dr.Asha.
“I frequently participate in awareness programs. Nearly 100-200 doctors take part and I know several of them who’re from Bangalore. These kinds of programs are encouraging people to take precautionary measures,” added Dr. Lohit.
In Bangalore, Victoria, Bowring and Lady Curzon, KC.General, Sir CV Raman, and Beams are the hospitals that have ART (Anti Retroviral Therapy) centers in the city. “They even provide counseling and mental treatment for the infected patients,” said P.Tyagaraj, assistant director for ART centers in Bangalore.