Gloria and Rosemary Living With HIV Gives Birth to HIV-negative Babies- An assessment of the 3 Zeros; Zero deaths related to HIV/AIDS, Zero new infections and Zero discrimination
Call to Action
#Fightthestigma
#TaketheTesttakeControl
The target of lead agencies, donors and partners in the fight against HIV/AIDS is what has been identified as the 3 zeros; zero deaths related to HIV/AIDS, zero new infections and zero discrimination.
Until now, Nigeria has the second highest number of people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa after South Africa. Since the HIV prevalence peaked at 5.8 per cent in 2001, HIV prevalence has continued to decline with national estimates of 3.6 per cent and 3.0 per cent in 2008 and 2012 respectively.
On June 11, 2015, Prof. John Idoko, the Director General of National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) said the number of AIDS deaths in Nigeria between 2012 and 2014, indicates that in:
Despite many challenges, NACA says the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria has dropped to 3.4% and trends are improving. Areas in need of sustained efforts are testing, treatment (psychological impact of HIV; discrimination, stigma, depression, e.t.c) and prevention. The story of Gloria and Rosemary highlights these 3 key areas that need sustained improvement. Continue reading for details.
Gloria found out she was HIV positive in 2003. A persistent fever and leg pain had forced Gloria’s family to take her to hospital for a confirmatory test. After several other tests, a doctor asked her permission to test for HIV. Gloria accepted. After the test the doctor confirmed that she is HIV positive. Gloria said the doctor asked her if he tell her parents. She agreed that he should just tell her mother first.
The doctor advised Gloria to start her treatment immediately. He referred her to a tertiary Healthcare centre in a neighboring state due to the unavailability of Anti-Retroviral (ARV) drugs in her state. “On reaching there, they declared the drugs free,” she says. This made treatment affordable for her. But prior to her starting on ARV, she says her brother had initially blamed her condition on witchcraft and other estranged family members.
He placed her forcefully on herbal treatment but when she refused to take it, he stopped paying her hospital bills.
In Nigeria, there are over three million people living with HIV and Nasarawa state has one of the highest prevalence rate at 7.5%, according to a report by Nasarawa State AIDS Control Agency (NASACA). In Nassarawa-Eggon where Gloria lives, between January and August 2013, out of about two thousand people who tested for HIV, about three hundred were HIV positive, reveals a recent report by the Local AIDS Control Agency (LACA).
Although there are eighty-six public health facilities and twelve private facilities in the area, only twenty-three are offering HIV Counselling and Testing (HCT) with treatment sites. However, an increased awareness about HIV and AIDS has contributed to people accessing treatment irrespective of their religious background, says a nurse at the Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) centre of one of the health facilities.
To tackle the spread of HIV and AIDS in Nasarawa state, different organizations are supporting the state government in carrying out various intervention programmes. According to a recent report by LACA, Enhancing Nigeria’s Response (ENR), Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) and SOLINA health have trained communicators to create awareness about HIV/AIDS
Many people do not know about the existence of the HIV and AIDS Anti-stigma Bill passed into Law earlier this year by the Nasarawa state government to protect people infected and affected by AIDS.
Gloria says she has to keep encouraging them to attend the support group whether or not they are given incentives. “The support group is helping me a lot.” Gloria says. “We have health talk. We discuss about personal hygiene and how they can take care of their [baby].” After the meeting, they visit one another to provide home-care support.
In addition, Gloria advice the government to provide economic empowerment programme for women living with HIV to enable them contribute positively to development of their community. “So many of them have children and they are not working,” says Gloria. “A woman needs to be economically empowered to take care of her children.”
Before she got pregnant, Rosemary says she heard rumors that the other women (wives of her husband) were HIV positive. She confronted her husband about it but he dismissed the news and told her he didn’t know anything about their status.
She went to the clinic for antenatal check-up. After series of test, she was told that she was HIV positive. The nurses counseled her. The counselling provided at the clinic boosted her morale. She said to herself then that God knows everything that happen to mankind and knows how to help her.
When she got the news of her HIV status, she went back home to tell her husband, but he dismissed her report, nonchalantly.
EMOTIONAL SUPPORT
The Nurse at the Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) centre at the clinic where Rosemary access treatment encouraged her that being positive is not the end of life and if she takes care of herself and her pregnancy, the child will be free from the disease. She shared different stories of positive women who successfully gave birth to HIV negative babies as well as those who failed to adhere to treatment and thus delivered HIV positive babies. The stories encouraged Rosemary.
Rosemary goes for her drugs regularly and this reduced mother to child transmission of the virus to minimal, Rosemary’s child is one year and five months and is still HIV negative.
A GLIMPSE OF WHY ROSEMARY’S CHILD IS HIV IS NEGATIVE
With the current PMTCT guideline of “test and treat” women whose test result reveals HIV positive are placed on ARVs treatment immediately.
The ART nurse said it is because the viral load may be high at that time. The higher the viral load, the higher the chances of the virus infecting the child,.
To prevent mother to child transmission of HIV, treatment intervention is provided during pregnancy, at labour and delivery and during breastfeeding.
Women, especially pregnant women and nursing mothers, who have tested HIV positive in Nasarawa state are encouraged to access free medical treatment and drugs. The test and antiretroviral drugs are free, says the head nurse, Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission (PMTCT) treatment centre, in one of the secondary health clinics in the state.
She says they are told at the clinic that if a woman is HIV positive and the man’s status is not known and they are both sexually active, then the man is likely to be infected. And if he is already infected, he has the chances of increasing her viral load even though she is already accessing her ARVs.
To prevent herself from being at risk of increased viral load, Rosemary says she sometimes refuse him sex but she is forced to succumb to him, as part of her duty as a wife. She says she has no option than to keep living with it.
#Fightthestigma
#TaketheTesttakeControl
The target of lead agencies, donors and partners in the fight against HIV/AIDS is what has been identified as the 3 zeros; zero deaths related to HIV/AIDS, zero new infections and zero discrimination.
Until now, Nigeria has the second highest number of people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa after South Africa. Since the HIV prevalence peaked at 5.8 per cent in 2001, HIV prevalence has continued to decline with national estimates of 3.6 per cent and 3.0 per cent in 2008 and 2012 respectively.
On June 11, 2015, Prof. John Idoko, the Director General of National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) said the number of AIDS deaths in Nigeria between 2012 and 2014, indicates that in:
- 2012, the country lost 4,2017 males and 5,386 females;
- 2013 the figures were 5,313 males and 7,791 females;
- 2014 the country lost 7,148 males and 8,961 females (according to the National Health Sector Validated Data 2012, 2013 and 2014).
Despite many challenges, NACA says the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria has dropped to 3.4% and trends are improving. Areas in need of sustained efforts are testing, treatment (psychological impact of HIV; discrimination, stigma, depression, e.t.c) and prevention. The story of Gloria and Rosemary highlights these 3 key areas that need sustained improvement. Continue reading for details.
 |
| Pregnant Gloria |
Gloria's Story Living with HIV
Gloria is a tailor in her early 30's who lives in Nassarawa, North central Nigeria. She is married, has one child and is expecting another.Gloria found out she was HIV positive in 2003. A persistent fever and leg pain had forced Gloria’s family to take her to hospital for a confirmatory test. After several other tests, a doctor asked her permission to test for HIV. Gloria accepted. After the test the doctor confirmed that she is HIV positive. Gloria said the doctor asked her if he tell her parents. She agreed that he should just tell her mother first.
He placed her forcefully on herbal treatment but when she refused to take it, he stopped paying her hospital bills.
In Nigeria, there are over three million people living with HIV and Nasarawa state has one of the highest prevalence rate at 7.5%, according to a report by Nasarawa State AIDS Control Agency (NASACA). In Nassarawa-Eggon where Gloria lives, between January and August 2013, out of about two thousand people who tested for HIV, about three hundred were HIV positive, reveals a recent report by the Local AIDS Control Agency (LACA).
Although there are eighty-six public health facilities and twelve private facilities in the area, only twenty-three are offering HIV Counselling and Testing (HCT) with treatment sites. However, an increased awareness about HIV and AIDS has contributed to people accessing treatment irrespective of their religious background, says a nurse at the Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) centre of one of the health facilities.
To tackle the spread of HIV and AIDS in Nasarawa state, different organizations are supporting the state government in carrying out various intervention programmes. According to a recent report by LACA, Enhancing Nigeria’s Response (ENR), Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) and SOLINA health have trained communicators to create awareness about HIV/AIDS
Coping With Stigmatization
Access to treatment has enabled Gloria, her husband and their HIV-negative child maintain a healthy living. But she says it was not all rosy at the beginning. There was a high rate of stigmatization in her community. “If I drink water and use cup even my mother was afraid then. She’ll tell my brothers they should not use it.” She says. Her neighbours also forbade their children from eating the food she cooked. “If I’m passing, people will be calling me ‘HIV, AIDS, HIV, AIDS’. I’ll pretend as if I did not hear.”Many people do not know about the existence of the HIV and AIDS Anti-stigma Bill passed into Law earlier this year by the Nasarawa state government to protect people infected and affected by AIDS.
How Gloria Found Love Again
In 2004, Gloria joined a support group organized by a local Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in her community. “I was committed there,” she says. It was at this programme she met her husband. “I [don’t even hope] someone will say this woman I like you but it takes the grace of God.” She says. Gloria said she was surprised. “After the workshop he visited her family,” she says. That marked the beginning of a relationship between them. In 2007, they got married.Giving Birth to HIV Negative Baby
Gloria started her Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission (PMTCT) treatment in 2008. “My first baby is four years,” she says. The child is HIV negative. In her opinion, the PMTCT programme is successful because it has enabled many women who are living with HIV give birth to HIV negative babies.Championing Support Group for Women Living
Gloria serves as a mentor-mother at the tertiary Hospital in her community. As a mentor-mother, she coordinates the support group created for women living with HIV who access treatment at the health center. Drawing from her experience living with HIV and successfully adhering to the Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission (PMTCT) treatment, Gloria mentors other women on how to go about it.Gloria says she has to keep encouraging them to attend the support group whether or not they are given incentives. “The support group is helping me a lot.” Gloria says. “We have health talk. We discuss about personal hygiene and how they can take care of their [baby].” After the meeting, they visit one another to provide home-care support.
In addition, Gloria advice the government to provide economic empowerment programme for women living with HIV to enable them contribute positively to development of their community. “So many of them have children and they are not working,” says Gloria. “A woman needs to be economically empowered to take care of her children.”
How Rosemary Living With HIV Gives Birth To HIV Negative Baby
INFECTION: Rosemary, 30, is the 3rd wife of her husband. In her culture, men are permitted to marry more than one wife.
Before she got pregnant, Rosemary says she heard rumors that the other women (wives of her husband) were HIV positive. She confronted her husband about it but he dismissed the news and told her he didn’t know anything about their status.She went to the clinic for antenatal check-up. After series of test, she was told that she was HIV positive. The nurses counseled her. The counselling provided at the clinic boosted her morale. She said to herself then that God knows everything that happen to mankind and knows how to help her.
When she got the news of her HIV status, she went back home to tell her husband, but he dismissed her report, nonchalantly.
EMOTIONAL SUPPORT
The Nurse at the Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) centre at the clinic where Rosemary access treatment encouraged her that being positive is not the end of life and if she takes care of herself and her pregnancy, the child will be free from the disease. She shared different stories of positive women who successfully gave birth to HIV negative babies as well as those who failed to adhere to treatment and thus delivered HIV positive babies. The stories encouraged Rosemary.
THE BIRTH Of HER HIV NEGATIVE CHILD
Rosemary goes for her drugs regularly and this reduced mother to child transmission of the virus to minimal, Rosemary’s child is one year and five months and is still HIV negative. The ART nurse said after one year and six months one last test will be done and if the baby remains negative, the PMTCT service is regarded as successful.
A GLIMPSE OF WHY ROSEMARY’S CHILD IS HIV IS NEGATIVE
With the current PMTCT guideline of “test and treat” women whose test result reveals HIV positive are placed on ARVs treatment immediately.
The ART nurse said it is because the viral load may be high at that time. The higher the viral load, the higher the chances of the virus infecting the child,.
To prevent mother to child transmission of HIV, treatment intervention is provided during pregnancy, at labour and delivery and during breastfeeding.
Women, especially pregnant women and nursing mothers, who have tested HIV positive in Nasarawa state are encouraged to access free medical treatment and drugs. The test and antiretroviral drugs are free, says the head nurse, Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission (PMTCT) treatment centre, in one of the secondary health clinics in the state.
HIV Status Of Partner Unknown
Although Rosemary considers herself fortunate to have successfully adhered to the process of PMTCT treatment, she is still perturbed by her husband’s refusal to go for HIV test. She classifies this as a challenge.She says they are told at the clinic that if a woman is HIV positive and the man’s status is not known and they are both sexually active, then the man is likely to be infected. And if he is already infected, he has the chances of increasing her viral load even though she is already accessing her ARVs.
To prevent herself from being at risk of increased viral load, Rosemary says she sometimes refuse him sex but she is forced to succumb to him, as part of her duty as a wife. She says she has no option than to keep living with it.
The health clinic is careful not to interfere with family issues. He has been invited severally to come for test but he refused. But The they have continued to encourage Rosemary to access her treatment. But if he refused to allow [her] access, we will take legal backing because everyone has a right to treatment as well as right to life,says the nurse.
THE STIGMA
Rosemary says she does not pay attention to any form of stigma. When she comes for her ARVs at the clinic, she does not mind the stares she gets from those around. She says all she knows is that she is there to take care of herself and her family. Accessing treatment is doing something that will make her life better.
Some people who are HIV positive do not adhere to treatment because of shame and stigma. Rosemary says there is need for everyone who is HIV positive to take care of themselves. She has taken care of herself and her baby is HIV negative, she says. She looks forward to having more children. But not immediately, she adds,with smiles.
In conclusion, Rosemary’s story and the 5.1 per cent to 3.4 per cent drop in HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in Nigeria highlights the fact that the 3 zeros; zero deaths related to HIV/AIDS, zero new infections and zero discrimination. 3zeros death is a having a measure of success. This is due to extensive awareness and programmes, free testing centres across the country and access and availability of free Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) for pregnant women to prevent mother to child transmission.
However, much still needs to be done especially in the area of zero HIV/AIDS discrimination. The stigma or discrimination of being HIV positive kills faster than the virus itself. The Anti-Discrimination law signed in 2014, has less to nothing in shielding other HIV positive people from discrimination at home, work, schools or communities.
The psychological impact of the HIV can be devastating and will be discussed in a future article. The greater risk here is not knowing your HIV status. The next article will discuss six reasons why you should get tested and the meaning of HTC.
#nomoresittingonthefence
#TaketheTesttakeControl
#Lifestylemanagementcoach
Rosemary says she does not pay attention to any form of stigma. When she comes for her ARVs at the clinic, she does not mind the stares she gets from those around. She says all she knows is that she is there to take care of herself and her family. Accessing treatment is doing something that will make her life better.
Some people who are HIV positive do not adhere to treatment because of shame and stigma. Rosemary says there is need for everyone who is HIV positive to take care of themselves. She has taken care of herself and her baby is HIV negative, she says. She looks forward to having more children. But not immediately, she adds,with smiles.
(Original story by: Jennifer Ehidiamen, a 2013 IRP New Media Fellow for International Reporting Project, IRP).
An Assessment Of The 3 Zeros Target In HIV Related Deaths, Infection And Discrimination
In conclusion, Rosemary’s story and the 5.1 per cent to 3.4 per cent drop in HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in Nigeria highlights the fact that the 3 zeros; zero deaths related to HIV/AIDS, zero new infections and zero discrimination. 3zeros death is a having a measure of success. This is due to extensive awareness and programmes, free testing centres across the country and access and availability of free Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) for pregnant women to prevent mother to child transmission.However, much still needs to be done especially in the area of zero HIV/AIDS discrimination. The stigma or discrimination of being HIV positive kills faster than the virus itself. The Anti-Discrimination law signed in 2014, has less to nothing in shielding other HIV positive people from discrimination at home, work, schools or communities.
The psychological impact of the HIV can be devastating and will be discussed in a future article. The greater risk here is not knowing your HIV status. The next article will discuss six reasons why you should get tested and the meaning of HTC.
#nomoresittingonthefence
#TaketheTesttakeControl
#Lifestylemanagementcoach
Comments
Post a Comment