Community ready to help HIV/AIDS children

18/07/2008
The face of an eight-year old girl in a pink dress brightens when she talks about her class and her games with friends. She also likes singing. Looking at her, no-one would imagine that this optimistic and happy girl, Nguyen Thi Xuan is living with HIV/AIDS.

"Everyday, I go to school with my closest friend, Hat. My classmates are very friendly and help me a lot," says Xuan.

 

"Thanks to the efforts of Ha Tay Province HIV/AIDS Prevention Centre, the school and people in Phu Tuc Commune understand us and our disease," says Xuan’s father adding that his neighbours show their sympathy and support in daily life.

 

According to Nguyen Anh Quang, the director of Ha Tay Province’s HIV/AIDS Prevention Centre, Xuan and her younger sister have received the antiretroviral treatment (ART) at the Ha Noi Pediatrics Hospital. Doctors used antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to inhibit the replication of HIV.

 

"Our children also get free health insurance," notes Xuan’s father.

 

However, Xuan is o­ne of the lucky few children living with HIV/AIDS in Viet Nam who goes to school with other children and receives proper treatment; most parents with HIV/AIDS-infected children don’t fully understand the illness and hide their children’s disease.

 

Difficulties

 

Parents hiding the fact that their children are HIV positive make it hard to combat AIDS, according to Do Thi Nhan of the Ministry of Health’s HIV/AIDS Prevention Department.

 

In the recent issuance of free health insurance for HIV/AIDS affected children in June, the department o­nly received 1,300 application forms out of the estimated over 3,000 children infected with HIV that are eligible.

 

And of those that applied, most parents withdrew their applications when asked to fill in their children’s names and addresses.

 

"In the end, o­nly 500 children with HIV/AIDS received free health insurance," says Nhan sorrowfully.

"Viet Nam has enough ARV drugs to treat every child with HIV/AIDS," says Chu Quoc An, the deputy head of HIV/AIDS Department.

 

"The problem is," Nhan adds, "due to their parents’ reservations, pitifully few children get access to ARV drugs."

 

Furthermore, even when children get ARV drugs, few of them use the drugs properly as their parents or guardians often fail to comply with the rules of ART for children.

 

Children with HIV/AIDS and their guardians need six rounds of training in how to use ARV drugs. This process is very complicated with a lot of stages.

 

The drugs must be kept liquid so they can be injected at fixed points of time. Moreover, the volume of drugs changes flexibly after a few weeks depending o­n the side-effects of the drugs o­n children and the changes in the children’s bodies.

 

"More than 50 per cent of children with HIV/AIDS are born into poor families and are treated by helpers who can’t spend a lot of time with the children," says Nhan.

 

In addition, ARV drugs must be stored in a refrigerator or else they lose all effectiveness.

"This seems to be a big barrier because in the poor living conditions, how they can afford to buy a refrigerator?" asks Quang.

 

Due to the help of health officials in Phu Tuc Commune, Xuan’s father took her and her younger sister to Ha Noi Pediatrics Hospital so that they could get proper ART and guidance from experts in HIV/AIDS, which is why Xuan and her father are now in good health, Quang explains.

 

Treating HIV/AIDS-infected children is important but equally vital is helping them integrate into the community, says An.

 

According to the HIV/AIDS Prevention Department, over 80 per cent of children living with HIV/AIDS in Viet Nam have no chance to go to school due to the fact that parents of uninfected children worry that their children will become HIV-positive if they come into close contact.

 

A group of children with HIV/AIDS in Social Labour Education Centre 2 in Ha Tay Province’s Ba Vi District are a typical example: they were kicked out after just two weeks.

 

"We have enough knowledge to understand that HIV can not be transmitted through normal communication. However, children under 16 are too young to take adequate precautions," explains Nguyen Van Phu of Ba Vi District.

 

People in Ba Vi still take care of HIV/AIDS-infected children from the centre, inviting them into their homes o­n the weekends.

 

"I can keep an eye o­n children when they play with each other at my house but who’ll ensure the safety of our children at school?" asks Phu.

 

According to Quang, the HIV-positive children are equipped with all necessary skills and knowledge about how to ensure the safety of others before they’re allowed to integrate into the community.

 

"However, easing the worries of parents in the community takes time. The first step is for us, the officials and authorities of the districts, to let our children study with children with HIV/AIDS," says Quang noting that, "If we can prove to them that their children are safe, others will follow us."

 

"I know my disease and also know how to ensure the safety for my classmates. I have never harmed them," says courageous Xuan.

 

Greater efforts

 

Clinics for children living with HIV/AIDS have been gradually established in the provinces of Viet Nam so that they can receive ART more easily and be taken care of by doctors.

 

"There are now 28 clinics in 17 provinces nation wide," says Nhan with pride.

 

The ARV drugs are also available in various centres like the Social Labour Education Centre 2, Tam Binh Centre.

 

"To reduce the number of new children with HIV/AIDS, we have made efforts in preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV because in Viet Nam, there are an estimated 100,000 HIV-positive women and many of them are of child-bearing age," says An.

 

"As this figure increases year after year, so too the number of children with HIV/AIDS which is why prevention is so important," notes An.

Thu Hien-VNS

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