Your daily Selection of IRIN Africa PlusNews reports, 1/14/2005

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U N I T E D N A T I O N S

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Integrated Regional Information Network

[These reports do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

CONTENT:

1 - CHAD: " Keep your chin up, Miss! "

2 - COTE D IVOIRE: Women with AIDS talk to women with AIDS

1 - CHAD: " Keep your chin up, Miss! "

NDJAMENA, 14 January (PLUSNEWS) - Gisele Ngamada, who is 36, found out she

was HIV-positive five years ago. She has lost custody of her children, she

has given up sex and now has a single aim in life - get to Europe as soon

as possible for treatment.

In Chad, where 200,000 people are believed to live with HIV/AIDS but where

talk of the epidemic remains taboo, Gisele is one of the very few people

to have come out openly to talk about her condition in public.

" As soon as people here realise you've got AIDS, you become like a witch

with 1,000 heads, " she told PlusNews. " Everyone says they'll help me, but

then ... they do nothing. I have to get to Europe. "

Gisele's friends and family began worrying about her state of health

following the death of her boyfriend Emmanuel, the HIV-positive son of a

diplomat. In the interests of discretion, they shipped her off to Maroua,

in northern Cameroon, hundreds of kilometres away from the Chadian

capital, Ndjamena.

" Everyone who attended Emmanuel's funeral in February 1999 knew very well

he'd died of AIDS but nobody would talk about it. People just said he had

died of an illness that was too powerful for science, " she said.

" So my parents began asking themselves questions, and the following year a

brother-in-law gave me 40,000 CFA francs (US $80) to take a test in

Maroua.

" It came out positive, and the doctor said: 'Keep your chin up, Miss'. "

" Three months later I came down with tuberculosis and my health got worse

and worse by the day. I felt very weak but was cured of the tuberculosis

quickly. "

Tuberculosis is the leading infection among the so-called " opportunistic "

diseases that affect people weakened by the HIV virus. It is also the

leading cause of death among carriers of the virus, although it can be

cured if caught in the early stages.

Feeling too weak to work after the illness, Gisele resigned from her job

as a secretary for a building firm in the southern town of Doba.

Deprived of a steady income, she decided her only solution was to tell her

friends and family that she was HIV-positive and needed support to pay for

antiretroviral (ARVs) drugs. These improve the health of people living

with AIDS and help them to survive longer.

" I gathered my parents and friends together to talk to them and some

influential people agreed to help me look after myself. They rented a room

for me so I could stay away from my children and they gave me money for

the ARVs. I stopped drinking beer on the advice of my family and I no

longer make love. "

Her two daughters, now aged 10 and 14, were placed in the care of an aunt

and she often leaves the poor busy district where she lives to visit them.

Gisele sells beer from time to time to make a living. In December she

organised a party that brought in $1,000, enough for several months of ARV

treatment.

But her health and living conditions are declining. She has lost almost 50

kilos, half of her original weight, and is having more and more trouble

buying boxes of triomine 30, the antiretroviral drug that she buys at the

full commercial price of 15,000 CFA francs ($30 dollars) per month.

The Chadian authorities said last month that low-income earners would be

able to buy ARVs at a third of this price from January. But Gisele said

the decision had not filtered down yet, meaning that the 1,500-odd

Chadians who use the drugs are still paying through the nose for the

treatment.

" I realised I just couldn't look after myself any longer, so I went to see

the public health ministry. I met the director of the hospital and I even

met Aziza Baroud, who is now the public health minister. They said they

were going to take a serious look at my case, but since then ... nothing.”

Gisele is sceptical too about the help she and others can hope for from

the associations battling HIV/AIDS.

" I went to see them too. They wrote my name down on a list and made

promises they never kept. Most of these associations were set up to make a

living for the people who run them, " she said.

As for her family, " some of my relatives have begun to think I'm just

someone with no money who's found a smart way to live off them, " she said.

" The family is tired of buying the drugs for me and some of them are

beginning to doubt that I'm HIV-positive. "

One doctor she is related to even suggested that she take a new test to

make sure whether or not she was HIV positive. " He said that normally I'll

die after 10 years of being positive because I don't eat well, I live in a

hot country, and I live in poor conditions. "

But what was most difficult to bear, she said, was the stigma and the

discrimination that people living with the virus have to put up with in

Chad.

" Members of the family try to avoid us, some of them refuse to kiss me.

It's hard to take. Sometimes, when I ask people to sit down at my table

they refuse to eat a meal with me. People in fact do not understand how

HIV/AIDS is spread. "

Gisele, however, does her best to inform others on how the virus is

transmitted and how best to prevent its spread.

" Many women friends who are infected come to see me seeking advice about

how to live with the virus. They come at night because they believe AIDS

is a shameful disease because it is related to sex. "

" I give them advice but they can't stand the situation they're in.

Ndolassoum, Caroline, tte and Germaine have all died since 2001

because they stopped eating so they could die quickly. I understand the

way they acted, and since then I've stopped campaigning.”

Last year Gisele's youngest sister Malagné tested HIV positive, but it has

made no difference to her response. " Malagne is still afraid of coming

near me, " Gisele said. " They say that if you approach me you die. "

[ENDS]

2 - COTE D IVOIRE: Women with AIDS talk to women with AIDS

ABIDJAN, 14 January (PLUSNEWS) - They all have a poignant story to tell,

and they tell it willingly. The Active Women of Cote d'Ivoire support

group for women infected with HIV, is a place where frank talk is

encouraged as one of the best ways to deal with the virus. It's a network

in true West African style, characterised by an unfailing solidarity.

Take Aminata Kabore, a bespectacled young woman in traditional dress. " I'm

not ashamed to tell what my husband has done to me, " she said. " In fact,

by talking about it, I may save the lives of other women. "

A couple of years ago, Aminata, who comes from a Moslem family, married a

man who sought to replace his recently deceased second wife. His first

wife agreed to the marriage. His third wife would elope several months

later.

When Aminata found she was pregnant, she went to hospital for a medical

check-up in the lively Abidjan neighborhood of Koumassi. Soon after, the

nurses informed her that she was HIV positive. At first, she did not

understand. How could it possibly be?

Aminata then learned that the third wife was gravely ill - just like

Aminata's predecessor had been before she died. Aminata cautiously

informed her husband of her status. He bundled up her few possessions and

kicked her out.

" I've heard that he has fallen seriously ill, " Aminata said. " He is only

48 years old, he should be in his prime. But despite him being half

paralyzed, it would not surprise me if he continues to contaminate other

women. "

Aminata's playful son was born HIV positive. During her pregnancy,

hospital staff referred her to the Active Women of Cote d’Ivoire (Femmes

Actives de Cote d'Ivoire) network for support and advice.

Active Women was founded in 2001 and loosely groups 200 members, all

living in the commercial capital Abidjan. Its main goal is to provide

psychological support to pregnant women who have just found out that they

are infected with HIV, to offer advice on how to inform their partner, and

to prevent mother-to-child transmission.

A core group of about 20 women meet weekly at a grassy spot in the grounds

of Koumassi hospital. These volunteers pull out plastic garden chairs from

their tiny headquarters and discuss everything from the latest in

nutritional advice for mothers living with HIV/AIDS to the home visits

that need to be paid to members who are too sick to move.

It's a modest association with modest means. None of the members are

wealthy, some are even desperately poor. But simply sharing with other

infected women is priceless, said Nahounou Kennedy, an enthusiastic woman

who is one of Active Women's consultants.

" The first time I joined the group, I registered under a false name. But I

could hardly believe my eyes when I met the vice-chairwoman. She looked so

beautiful. I would never have thought that she was really infected with

HIV, " Nahounou said.

" That experience marked me profoundly. I realised the fact that I am HIV

positive does not mean that I have to look repugnant. At that moment I

decided to always try to look as pretty as possible. "

From then on, Nahounou also decided to give her real name.

Active Women is one of many HIV/AIDS solidarity groups in Cote d'Ivoire,

which has the highest HIV prevalence rate in West Africa. Official data

provided by the health ministry indicate that 9.5 percent of the

population is infected.

But for such a small, grassroots organisation, it has been remarkably

successful in obtaining funding and antiretroviral drugs from

organisations like CARE and RETROCI, a US-sponsored research project based

in Abidjan focusing on mother-to-child transmission.

" In 2003, we were able to obtain free ARV treatment for 87 women, and

we're well over that number now, " said Bertine Semilou, the charismatic

chairwoman.

" We have tied a partnership with a women's group in Belgium and we'd love

to create more, but that won't be easy until we have our own internet

connection. We lack funds at the moment. "

Fortunately, she added with a smile, providing psychological support can

be cheap - often, it means just talking and listening.

From the hospital laboratory next door, dozens of pregnant women have been

sent directly to Bertine, who is extremely outspoken about being HIV

positive and has even appeared on national TV to talk about her life.

" Women who have just learnt that they are HIV positive need to be told

that they are not alone, " said Bertine. " We try to console them and

accompany them home. It is not unusual that people can't accept the news

and start questioning the veracity of the blood test. But we keep talking,

listening, and giving advice, " she said.

Another of Bertine's achievements is a markedly West African success. " I'm

very proud that 170 of our members have told their partner that they are

infected with HIV-AIDS. "

In a region where men often react violently to the news that their wife or

girlfriend is HIV positive, even to the point of cold-heartedly throwing

them out, most women don't know how to break the terrible news.

The statuesque young woman who gave her name as tried this

strategy.

" It's important to know what kind of man you have to confront, " she said.

" So I wept for weeks without telling my husband why. I wept and wept and

wept. He was very touched by this. I noticed that he was very

compassionate towards me. "

simultaneously tried to find out how sensitive her husband was on

the subject of HIV/AIDS. " I mentioned it every once in a while without

telling him everything just to see if it frightened him. For instance, I

asked him whether he thought that it was something evil. "

Active Women advices its members to broach the subject when the husband in

question has eaten a nice home-cooked dinner and has comfortably settled

down on the couch. When he feels at ease, he might be more responsive,

according to Bertine.

did just that - and broke down in tears once more. It worked. " My

husband felt pity for me and wanted to show me that he was a real man,

that I could rely on him and that he would take care of me. "

[ENDS]

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