The author would agree with which of the following?
- India can learn a lot from the African experience.
- open discussions of sexual issues is often problematic in tradition bound societies like India and China.
- the amount India currently invests on AIDS prevention does not suffice the actual need.
- the rate of economic growth of a country can decline as a result of AIDS.
Directions: Read the following passages and answer the question that follows:
PASSAGE – I
Words of warning are already being voiced. The incidence of infection with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) it causes could be set to explode in India and China, the world's two most populous countries. China and India stand on the brink of widespread epidemics, as HIV spreads from groups at high risk to the broader population, observed a recent report. The current low prevalence rates are deceptive. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) puts the prevalence of HIV among adults in India at less than one per cent, compared to nine per cent in sub-Saharan Africa, currently the worst affected region in the world. On the other hand, India stands second only to South Africa in the number of HIV-infected people. Worse still, there are reports that HIV infections are spreading twice as fast in South Asia as in sub-Saharan Africa.
There are fears that India (and South Asia) could go the sub-Saharan way. India shares some of the same risk factors as Africa, including a similar pattern of health expenditure, an uneven health infrastructure and prevalent high risk sexual behaviour.
The African experience shows what high levels of HIV in a society mean in everyday terms. According to UNAIDS, average life expectancy in sub-Saharan Africa is now 47 years, when it would have been 62 years without AIDS. Loss of income and mounting medical expenses push HIV/AIDS affected families deeper into poverty, stripping assets from the already impoverished. As parents die, the care and upbringing of children, who might themselves be infected with HIV, become major social problems. By affecting those in the prime of their lives, HIV/AIDS has a severe impact on national economies. The rate of economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa is believed to have reduced by two to four per cent as a result of AIDS.
There is as yet no effective cure which can remove the virus entirely from the body of an infected person or a vaccine which can prevent infection. But as the Global HIV Prevention Working Group said in a recent report, a massive expansion of the HIV/AIDS epidemic was not inevitable and could be reversed if proven prevention techniques were used in combination and on a sufficient scale. In India, sexual contact is the primary route through which HIV spreads. Prevention requires awareness among the public of risky sexual behaviour combined with ways to avoid such risks. As in many other tradition-bound societies, open discussion of sexual issues is often problematic in India.
The myths and realities around sex and sexuality issues in India are similar to those that exist across the world. Young people should be encouraged and provided information to make informed choices to protect themselves from infection. Inadequate funding for AIDS prevention work is a global problem. The Global HIV Prevention Working Group estimated that the funding gap in Asia and the Pacific was about $1.48 billion. While what India currently invests on AIDS prevention is much less than needed, no estimate on the extent of this deficit seems readily available. Implementation of a comprehensive prevention package can more than halve the total number of HIV infections. One-third of this global reduction would benefit two countries — India and China. But the experts also warned that delayed implementation of the prevention package would lead to large reductions in the infections prevented. India has a window of opportunity — but it may not remain open for long.