It is an undeniable fact that COVID-19 is a serious disease that has hit the world but Just like the older population, persons with HIV/AIDS are at higher risk of contracting the virus and suffering the dire complications associated with the virus.
Speaking in an interview with Regina Asamoah on condition of anonymity, some persons living with HIV/ AIDS recounted how their lives were negatively impacted on. Ranging from their inability to visit the hospital for their antiretroviral drugs to loss of jobs, they described that period of their life as unbearable.
According to them, leaving with the HIV/Virus was not emotionally draining as compared to you knowing that you can actually die from COVID-19 because of your underlying condition. They explained that their right to proper healthcare was curtailed due to the pandemic.
The interview is under the “Mobilizing Media to Fighting COVID-19” project being implemented by the Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) in collaboration with the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA).
Misinformation
Another worrying trend for them was misinformation about the COVID-19 virus. For some, they had to ignore information circulating about the COVID-19 because at a point, they did not know who to believe and what to believe.
They expressed their frustrations saying, “At first, there was an information circulating on WhatsApp suggesting that we with HIV/AIDS would automatically die when we contract the virus because we already have a virus in our system. Another suggested, it was so risky for people in our condition to come out because we can easily transmit the disease. Such information is so traumatizing, so, at I point, I just didn’t want to know anything about COVID-19”
Their ability to stay afloat in this pandemic, is through the guidance of Support Groups some of these persons living with HIV/AIDS are associated with. The Support Groups served as a fact checker for them. They relied on information posted by leaders of these Support Groups about COVID-19.
HIV/AIDS Support Group
Support groups are considered an intervention in the management of several medical conditions and it has proved to be critical in handling HIV/ AIDS spread and control. With the heavy impact of COVID19 on health systems, Support Groups’ role in the management of medical conditions is a necessary evil.
One of such Support Groups assisting persons living with HIV/AIDS within the Ashaiman Municipality and Tema Metropolis in the Greater Accra Region is the ‘Networking Positive Women for Development’ also known as Netwomenplus.
Netwomenplus is a women-led and a community-based organization established in August 2010 and legally registered in December, 2010 as a non-for-profit and non-governmental organization to address humanitarian, socio economic, psychological, developmental and basic needs of vulnerable women and children.
With a current membership of about 100, the group has as its mission to help subsidize stigma and discrimination, exclusion, deprivation, abuses, abject poverty and unemployment associated with women infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with an Executive Member of the Group, Madam Faustina Ocansey, she explained that basically, the Support Group was formed to alleviate poverty among women and children living with and affected by HIV/. However, over a decade in existence, the group has grown to include vulnerable men living with HIV/AIDS.
According to her, the Support Group continuous existence is due to its core values that it strictly upholds. These are Transparency, Accountability, Confidentiality, Teamwork, Mutual Respect and Professionalism.
Impact of COVID-19 on Support Group
Madam Ocansey explained that, the COVID-19 pandemic presented a very difficult moments for the Support Group as it tried its best to ensure that all their members who already fall into the risk category of contracting COVID–19, stay safe, continue to access their antiretroviral drugs and benefit from other interventions.
Recounting some of the harsh impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their members, she explained that some of their already vulnerable members were unable to come for their monthly dose of antiretroviral drugs due to financial constraints. She bemoaned a sad incidence where the breadwinner of a family who had two persons with HIV/AIDS lose his job due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Aside this, some of their members also lost their jobs further worsening their vulnerable state.
In such crucial moments, the leadership of the Support Group were innovative to identify all such persons and through a delivery system, sent their antiretroviral drugs to them.
This delivery system was costive and expenses had to be personally funded by the leaders of the Group. The Support Group currently has no sponsorship and solely relies on the benevolence of the executives and other philanthropists.
Another harsh impact on the Support Group was that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, their monthly meetings which serve as a forum to build the psychosocial capacity, as in boosting the morale of members as a self-support project were not held. At such meetings, they use Behavioral Change Communication approach to discuss relevant health related topics such TB, Malaria and HIV/AIDS & STIs and also conduct periodic HTC. Also, at such meetings they engage in positive prevention and prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV through self-consciousness and peer education.
More so, the Support Groups’ Community Stigma and Discrimination reduction programs in some communities were all not carried out. At such programmes, the group embark on condom use promotion (distribution, correct and consistence use of male and female condoms). They also engaged in Economic Empowerment, Resource Mobilization and Financial Literacy programs as a means of poverty alleviation.
The leaders engaged their members using their WhatsApp platform to conduct most of their sensitization. Although it served its purpose, some of their members were still cut off because they had no money to buy data to access this information, while others did not use mobile phones that support WhatsApp. Such persons were also targeted and through a telephone conversation, they were periodically educated on keeping safe and adhering to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Indeed, a year of COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana has not been easy for Persons living with HIV/ AIDS.
Despite, these challenges, the group has stayed afloat in the – pandemic. The major milestone for the group is that none of their members have lost their lives through the complications of COVID-19 infection. This is partly due to the support Group’s innovativeness to ensure their members are safe in this Covid-19 period.
To achieve the Support Group’s vision of creating a suitable organization with the capacity to respond to emerging psychosocial, socioeconomic, health, educational and other developmental needs of the vulnerable population with particular reference to persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIVs), their affected ones and Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs) in society), there is a passionate appeal for philanthropists to support the work of this group located in Ashaiman.
HIV/AIDS Support Group’s Appeal
The group would wish to resume their monthly meetings and provide sustainable source of income for their members who have lost their jobs. Help is needed in this regard to achieve their targets.
The group is also looking for partnership with organizations that can support it in their community sensitization programmes on HIV/AIDS so as to reduce infections. Also, the Support Group is appealing for a Corn Mill to start a business so proceeds can be used to fund the organization’s community sensitization programmes on HIV/AIDS.
Right to proper Healthcare
The rights to proper healthcare are to be enjoyed by all persons no matter your age, colour, race or gender. However, the concerns by persons living with HIV/AIDS shows that this right was violated as the Country could not put in systems to adequately provide for vulnerable persons especially people who are highly at risk of contracting the Covid-19 virus. Much is therefore needed to be done in this regard to help Ghana achieve Goal 3 of the Sustainable Development Goal on Good Health and Well-being.
Ghana| Atinkaonline.com| Regina Asamoah| [email protected]