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Vulnerability of Bangladeshi street-children to HIV/AIDS: a qualitative study
Md Jasim Uddin1, Haribondhu Sarma, Tasnuva Wahed
1Centre for Equity and Health Systems, icddr,b, Mohakhali, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh. jasim@icddrb.org.
Insights
Bangladeshi street children face high HIV/AIDS risk due to risky behaviors and poor health knowledge. Urgent interventions are needed to address their social conditions, sexual health, and drug use to prevent an epidemic.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Sociology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Street children in Bangladesh are a vulnerable population with increased risk of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)/HIV.
- Their daily risky behaviors and lifestyles exacerbate their vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the vulnerability of Bangladeshi street children to HIV/AIDS.
- Utilized qualitative participatory methods to understand the risks faced by this population.
Main Methods:
- An ethnographic, participatory, qualitative study conducted from February 2010 to December 2011 in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
- Involved children aged 5-12 years living and/or working on the streets.
- Data collection included social mapping (n=493), participatory group discussions (n=119), and individual interviews (n=36).
Main Results:
- Street children engage in behaviors increasing HIV/AIDS exposure risk.
- They exhibit poor knowledge of disease transmission and condom use; most reported never using condoms.
- Selling sex, various sexual activities (anal, vaginal, oral sex), and drug use (including injection) were commonly reported.
Conclusions:
- Deplorable living conditions and lack of rights make street children highly vulnerable to HIV/AIDS.
- Urgent policy-maker attention is required to implement services addressing social conditions, sexual health, and drug use.
- Interventions are crucial to prevent a potential HIV/AIDS epidemic among this population.
Background:
Children living on the streets are an underprivileged population of Bangladesh and are likely to be more vulnerable to STIs/HIV for their day-to-day risky behaviours and lifestyles. This study assessed the vulnerability of Bangladeshi street-children to HIV/AIDS using qualitative participatory methods.
Methods:
This ethnographic participatory, qualitative study was conducted during February 2010- December 2011 among children aged 5-12 years, who live and/or work on the streets in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. Data were collected in three phases: (a) social mapping (n = 493), (b) participatory group discussions (n = 119), and (c) individual interviews (n = 36).
Results:
Results showed that street-children were engaged in behaviour that entails risk of exposure to HIV/AIDS. They possessed poor knowledge of the transmission of disease and of the benefits of using condoms; most of them reported never using a condom. The experience of selling sex for money and a variety of sexual activities, like anal, vaginal and oral sex, were commonly reported. The children also reported that they were regular users of one or more types of drugs, including those taken by injection.
Conclusions:
The deplorable living conditions of street children, with no obvious rights or way out, make them highly vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. Urgent attention of the policy- makers to implement services addressing issues relating to social conditions, sexual health, and drug-use is warranted to prevent the possible epidemic of HIV/AIDS among this group of population.
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