Stigma still an issue for the HIV positive

Thu, 18 Jan 2018 10:04:58 +0000

By ANNIE ZULU

“THE result of my HIV test suddenly changed my status to unworthy of basic medical treatment,” says 37-year-old HIV positive Lucy Kabwe.

Lucy, of Lusaka’s Chawama Compound was pregnant for her first child last year and when her time was up, she was rushed to a public hospital to deliver her baby.

Unfortunately, her labour did not progress as expected and doctors decided to carry a caesarean section on her.

Luck, however eluded Lucy when the hospital found out that she was HIV positive.

She lamented that the zealot medical team that was determined to save her life started giving excuses and the plain lie was that there was no doctor to attend to her.

“This made me feel bad, for a moment I felt as if I was not a human being anymore. They made me feel dirty and untouchable. The result of my test suddenly changed my status to unworthy of basic medical treatment,” Lucy said.

Even though it was now over seven months since this happened, Lucy said the incident has affected her entire life.

“Till this day I find it difficult to visit the hospital because it reminds me about the fearful medical personnel afraid to deliver my baby because of my status,” she said.

Melody Musole, 26, who is also HIV positive was dumped by her boyfriend after she revealed her HIV status.

Melody vowed that she would now rather date someone who is also HIV positive “because they will understand.”

“I have not been lucky when it comes to dating because of my status. I once fell in love with a guy I really liked and we started dating, but immediately I disclosed my status, the guy vanished. So, I would rather date someone, who’s like me,” Melody said

The two stories are a summary of the discrimination people living or suspected to have contracted HIV/AIDS are being subjected to every day.

Despite efforts being made by the Zambian government and other stakeholders in creating awareness on the disease, stigma has continued to torture those who are HIV positive

Sadly, due to stigmatisation, people fear to declare their HIV status and many do not even want to know their HIV status because the attached stigma of being positive is something they shudder to bear.

The poor treatment of people living with HIV in health institutions and society at large tend to erode their fundamental human rights and inflict psychological damage on them.

Stigma not only makes it more difficult for people trying to come to terms with HIV and how to manage their illness, but also interferes with attempts to fight the AIDS epidemic worldwide.

On the national level, the stigma associated with HIV can deter Governments from taking fast, effective action against the epidemic, whilst on the personal level it can make individuals reluctant to access HIV testing, treatment and care.

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon observed: “Stigma remains the single most important barrier to public action. It is a main reason why too many people are afraid to see a doctor to determine whether they have the disease, or to seek treatment if so. It helps make AIDS the silent killer, because people fear the social disgrace of speaking about it, or taking easily available precautions. Stigma is a chief reason why the AIDS epidemic continues to devastate societies around the world.”

In Zambia, stigma has remained the biggest challenge in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

According to Health Minister Dr Chitalu Chilufya, stigma faced by people living with HIV/AIDS was one of the main challenges to the country’s response and that these challenges were making it difficult to overcome the epidemic despite efforts of awareness and other interventions.

And it’s for this reason that the Coalition of Zambian Women Living with HIV/AIDS (COZWHA) is calling for a complete stop of stigma against people living with HIV/AIDS.

COZWHA representative Stella Chinkuli noted that although general awareness of HIV and AIDS was high, in-depth knowledge was still very low leading to stigma.

Ms Chinkuli has since called on intensified awareness of in-depth knowledge on HIV/AIDS.

“Its high time we admitted that HIV affects people from all races, creeds and socio-economic classes. We need to approach HIV just as we do diabetes and hypertension.

“We need to respond to HIV positive people without judgment or criticism. We can conquer HIV stigma because it is our own creation, but to be successful we must talk about HIV in our communities, in our churches, in our social circles and in our homes,” Ms Chinkuli said.

She observed that stigma does not always exist in hostile environment but sometimes also in caring atmospheres where one would least expect it.

She said family member who should provide genuine and compassionate care sometimes become the worst perpetrators of stigma.

“Caregivers who should offer love and support are sometimes guilty of exhibiting stigmatising and discriminating behaviours,” she said.

It is only prudent for one to look forward to the day when HIV would be seen as a chronic and treatable disease, a disease that can inflict any person.

Stigma kills than the epidemic itself and we need to put a smile on the faces of people living with HIV/AIDS because the virus is just like any other chronic disease that can be managed.

HIV-related stigma devalues people living with the disease, which is “unfair and unjust.