World AIDS Vaccine Day – HIV Status
The HIV virus causes AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). It’s a disease with a set of symptoms or syndrome caused by the virus. Well, this disease has lots of myth, and people who suffer from it are not seen as a good person in society although they might have got the disease in some other ways. This virus mainly attacks the immune system and weakens it. Hence it reduces the ability of a person to recognize and fight against infections.
Below are some of the common ways to get HIV:
- Unprotected sexual contact
- Injection used for more than one person
- Passed from mother-to-baby during pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding
- If the blood of infected person gets in contact with others via transfusion or any injury
Watch: HIV Vaccine Awareness Day
AIDS as a Global Issue
Now let’s look at the global level and when was AIDS first discovered. The HIV virus was first discovered in the 1920s, and since then, huge research is being conducted to deal with the disease; but to date, no vaccine is successfully developed. Though there are some ways through which patients can live a longer life, an efficient way to be HIV-free is yet to see the light of the day.
Let’s look at some statistics at the global level of HIV in 2018.
According to the above graph, in 2018
- 9 million were living with HIV
- 7 million people were newly infected
- About 77000 died
But the good thing is that these numbers are declining year by year. Compared to 2004, in2018 56% lesser HIV cases were detected.
A lot of efforts have been worldwide to fight this disease. Now let’s look at the scenario in India – How it started and how India has dealt with the HIV spread.
AIDS in India
The first case was reported in India in 1986 among female sex workers in Chennai. The current national prevalence is about 0.26% (age 15-49) compared with a global average of 0.2%. In India, HIV infections reached a peak in 1988, and since then there has been a declining trend due to the continuous effort of many organizations and the government of India. This disease is at a very low level among the general population vs. high-risk groups like sex workers.
Currently, India with 2.1 million HIV patients is the world’s 3rd largest HIV population after South Africa (7.1 million) and Nigeria (3.2 million) but it has more to do it with the population of India being 1.3 billion.2 Now when we look deeper state-wise these statistics out of 2.1 million(21 lakhs) HIV, Maharashtra has highest no of people living with HIV ( PLHIV) (3.3 lakhs) and then followed by Andhra Pradesh (2.70 Lakh), Karnataka (2.47 Lakh), Telangana (2.04 Lakh), West Bengal (1.44 Lakh), Tamil Nadu (1.42 Lakh), Uttar Pradesh (1.34 Lakh) and Bihar (1.15 Lakh). And these all are 75% of total cases.
Also, adult HIV prevalence in India is 0.28%, compared to South Africa’s 18.9%, as per UNAIDS data, 2017.
So, what has happened in terms of infections, let’s look at stats up to 2017 in comparison to 2010 as per UNAIDS3
- There has been a decrease of 46% in new HIV infections
- AIDS-related has been declined by 56% decrease since 2010
- Also, there has been a decline of new HIV infections from 120, 000 to 88, 000
This decline has been because of a focus on the high-risk groups and providing them access to tests and treatment services. The decline in the spread of AIDS was also a result of the decentralized approach taken by many NGOs as well as Govt. institutes.
Now let us look at the year-wise HIV deaths in India as per report given by National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO).
The above figure shows that there was a hike in 2004-2006 and since then there has been a decline. With the decline in the number of HIV deaths, the new challenge is the high number of HIV infected patients. While the decline has been due to the efforts on educating and building awareness on AIDS, very little has been done to sensitize the society on living with HIV patients. There is a need, not only in India but at the global level as well, to stop the stigma against HIV survivors. Eradicating the disease from the root level, no doubt is the ultimate goal of every government.
According to NSP (National Strategic Plan {2017-2024}), below are the significant objectives to fulfill the vision of AIDS-free India.
- To reduce 80% of new infections by 2024 (Baseline 2010)
- Ensuring that 95% of PLHIV know their status by 2024
- Eliminating mother to child transmission
The Future of AIDS Vaccines and Challenges
As far as the vaccine is concerned many attempts have been made and still many attempts are going for HIV cure. There has been some success in terms of HIV drugs up to some level, but eradicating HIV is still like a dream for many researchers and scientists.
Any vaccine takes 10-20 years for its development. Like right now we are dealing with COVID 19 and we all are hoping for its vaccine. And COVID 19 has badly impacted all over the world.
Read: COVID-19 and It’s Impact On The 3 Pillars Of Sustainability
So what will a vaccine do, if developed? It will help the immune system to respond to HIV by making antibodies that will bind with the virus and will stop it from infecting other cells.
Now let’s see what the major challenges are in developing an HIV vaccine:
- The vaccine produces antibodies to neutralize infection but in this case of HIV, neutralizing antibodies do not clear the infection. As HIV reproduces very fast.
- Also, no vaccine can guarantee 100% of zero infection.
- Another difficulty is that HIV has many subtypes which makes it difficult to develop one universal vaccine.
- HIV integrates into human cells which makes it difficult to find an efficient way of delivering HIV proteins so that the immune system can recognize HIV.
Right now several trials are going in different parts of the world to develop a vaccine for AIDS. At the same time, there are methods to prevent this disease as it only spread in some ways and sex education is one of the worldwide which can help to reduce this disease spread. Its because Education can also remove the social stigma of this disease and help people deal with AIDS in an effective and appropriate manner.
Mastering India focuses on blending various methods of learning (blended learning) through its online courses, events, and travel-based experiences. We give you an insight into the rich culture and heritage of the world’s biggest democracy – India. At Mastering India we are driven towards building awareness around India and help you understand the growth opportunities in this country.
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3 Differences Between World Heritage Sites in Europe and India
When I Visited World Heritage Sites
World Heritage Day is an international day for monuments and sites. I have visited many world heritage sites. I visited these sites in different geographies. Museum Island in Berlin, Duomo Cathedral in Milan, San Marco Venice, Jungfrau mountain Switzerland, Old town of Bern, Switzerland, Swiss Vineyards of Lavaux, Statue of Liberty New York, Eiffel Tower Paris and Tower of London are just some of them.
Travel is a great experience for those who have the privilege. I get to enjoy time with my family, and it is a learning–filled experience for my family members. On World Heritage Day, I look up the list of world heritage sites. India is one of the world’s last surviving most ancient cultures and has many heritage sites. If you look at the criteria UNESCO uses, these are what they are. There are six of them:
- Represents a masterpiece of human creative genius.
- Exhibits an important interchange of human values.
- Bears a unique testimony to a cultural tradition of civilization.
- Is an outstanding example of an architectural or technological ensemble throughout history.
- Is an outstanding example of traditional human settlement or interaction with the environment.
- Is tangibly associated with traditions, ideas, beliefs, and works of universal significance.
I noticed three differences in the heritage sites I visited in Western Europe versus the ones I visited in India.
- The number: Western Europe has more sites attributed to heritage and culture by UNESCO than the Indian subcontinent has. (See screenshot of UNESCO map)
- The diversity: While landscaping and architecture are very eye–catching in the heritage sites of Western Europe, heritage sites showcase a diversity of art-forms going beyond physical architecture alone, spanning across the whole of the Indian subcontinent, that is simply unmatchable.
- The focus on sustainability: The Western European heritage sites show the world the dominion of Man. In India, visits to all the cultural and natural heritage sites showcase a peaceful co-existence of all life forms, flora, fauna included; of life on land and in the water included.
Personally, I have had the good fortune of visiting these UNESCO World Heritage sites in India: Amer fort Rajasthan, Taj Mahal Agra, Big Temple Tanjavur (Brihadeeshwara Temple), Bharatpur Bird sanctuary, Airawateshwara Kumbakonam, Fatehpur Sikhri Agra, Meenakshi Ammal Madurai, and Qutab Minar Delhi. Let me then explain each of these three points further.
The Number
Apart from these sites which are on the list of UNESCO Heritage sites, there is a lot more to see in India. At the time of writing this article, many examples of Indian heritage aren’t yet listed by UNESCO. These unlisted places form a very important part of Indian culture and heritage. Numbers then become a subjective quantification. If you look at the list of sites available on the UNESCO website, Europe has almost double the number of sites than India has.
India is a much older civilization than Europe. Isn’t it curious that Europe would then have more sites? A big reason for this is the process that goes behind the World Heritage Site certification granted by UNESCO. It costs a particular culture significant money, time and resources for cleaning and conservation, and then invite a UNESCO team to visit a site to ascertain its heritage status. It is only obvious that countries with larger budgets at their disposal for conservation of their heritage will have more tangible UNESCO World Heritage sites.
The Diversity of Art
To give you an example of the diversity of heritage present in India, from the Taj Mahal in Uttar Pradesh in North India to the Great Living Chola Temples in Tamil Nadu in Southern India, I stood speechless. It is not just the impressive continuity of civilization one gets to witness. Indian art forms are diverse and many. My team and I made this short video that shares some of the classical arts that can still be seen alive and well in India. Some of these I have grown up watching, imbibing and even enjoying by doing! They range from temple frescos, rock–cut sculptures, saris, rangoli, jewelry, and paintings.
Watch: How Elegant is Indian Art?
India also has a very rich performing arts scene that has kept its ancient storytelling culture alive. Many of these performing arts are alive not only for entertaining the masses but also to pass on traditions of faith and spirituality that keeps India’s family values in place in society. Some of these traditions are so valuable that Sangeet Natya Akademi, India’s central body for performing arts, that is responsible for preserving Indian culture (and comes under Ministry of Culture), nominated the Durga Pooja for UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage for 2020.
Durga Pooja is celebrated worldwide by the communities belonging to Bengal, the Eastern state of India, that was divided into West Bengal and Bangladesh. During Durga Pooja, the feminine divine is worshipped and celebrated by all genders in India, across all social divisions. In a significant role reversal, the woman is recognized as the creator, the one with the power to destroy and the power to sustain. She is recognized as the one with the power to give wealth and wisdom. It is a celebration that goes on for ten days. The same Goddess is revered in a traditon in Southern Indian state of Kerala called Mudiyeetu. Mudiyeetu is now a UNESCO world heritage as it is an intangible cultural ritual art form.
Watch this video, to get a glimpse of how various parts of India keep intangible cultural heritages alive, during just one of the many festivals that take place simultaneously across the land.
Here is a list of a few more examples of intangible cultural heritage of India that UNESCO has already recognized. However, there are many more examples of India’s intangible cultural heritage that does not have a UNESCO recognition. (more…)
Doing Business in India Learning Plan
India is not a country but a sub-continent. Its recent economic growth has made it one of the World’s favorite destinations for Foreign Direct Investment. Beyond it borders, Indians continue to play an important role as a source of high quality talent, be it in the technology sector, or in academia or other areas of business. Understanding how to do business in India, and perhaps more importantly the Indian diaspora, has never been more important.
Our learning plan allows you to:
- Analyze the global context for emerging market
- Learn to interpret global trends via terms like GDP and other econometrics
- Understand why and how quickly emerging markets are reshaping the global economic landscape
Update yourself on facts about India. Verify how much do you really know or not know about India. Analyze why India is called a land of contrasts. Learn the different aspects about doing business in India through her natural and demographic resources. Appreciate the influence of an ancient civilization and culture before achieving success in business with an emerging market. Who are Indians? What are the most important aspects of Indian culture? How does the multiculturalism of the land relate to doing business in India?
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