Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
BBC News - Tuesday, 2 December, 2003
The patients had lunch with the MPs and discussed ways of improving Aids prevention and care programmes.
The lunch was extraordinary for having united politicians who have not worked together after the opposition began a boycott of parliament six months ago.
Aids figures - relatively low in Bangladesh - have been rising recently.
Poverty and prejudice
The Bangabandhu Medical University estimates 136 Bangladeshis were infected by the HIV virus this year, compared to only 60 last year.
The number of people identified as HIV positive is now 284, but the UN estimates the true figure is much higher.
Many of the patients at Tuesday's lunch spoke of discrimination and poverty.
"Now I'm subject to society's hatred," said one of the women.
A man complained that he had lost his job after finding out he was HIV positive.
The deputy Speaker of parliament, Akhter Hamid Siddiqui, said the purpose of the visit was to make politicians more aware of the problems Aids patients faced.
"We have to break the notion that Aids is contagious like the common cold," he told the AFP news agency.
The leader of the opposition Awami League, Sheikh Hasina, did not attend the meeting, and nor did her rival, Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.
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