Ashar Alo a ray of Hope for HIV Positives
Amina faces stigma by her in-laws for which her husband is responsible
An official counsels a patient at the Ashar Alo Society centre. Photo: STAR
Amina after being diagnosed HIV positive, transmitted by her expatriate husband in 2006, has been facing immense discrimination and stigma from her in-laws. Life had been devastated for young Amina (not her real name) before she started getting counsel at a non-government organisation (NGO) that made her realise that a HIV positive person can also lead a normal life like others. Amina said she is still blamed for bringing the misery to the family and faces dishonour every now and then for which she is not responsible. Blaming ignorance of the people about the disease for such attitude, she called for more programmes to create awareness among the common people in this regard. People living with HIV/AIDS are badly treated by the family members as well as the people surrounding them, doctors and patients said. With this most of the patients suffer lot due to lack of proper diagnosis and treatment facility as well as absence of organisations to provide proper care, treatment and support to them. Twenty-six-year-old Amina got married in 2002 to Abdul (not his real name), an expatriate living in Saudi Arab where he was infected. Both of them faced a lot in a hospital here after her husband was detected. While talking to this correspondent on Sunday Amina said her husband got admitted to a local hospital at Chandanaish in 2006 with severe fever and diarrhoea. He was shifted to a city clinic from the hospital after one month as his condition was not improving. HIV was detected in his body at the clinic. The nurses harassed and forced them to leave clinic after the disease was diagnosed, she said. HIV and AIDS expert Dr AQM Sirajul Islam took them to the Ashar Alo Society (AAS), a peer support group comprising of HIV patients and their family members or relatives. AAS Executive Director Habiba Akhter said AAS has been working for caring and supporting, counselling and empowering the Persons Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) since its inception in 2000. It has branches in Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Jessore and Khulna. Around 150 PLHAs have benefited from AAS programme in Chittagong during the last few years, AAS activists said. AAS provides services including HIV test maintaining secrecy and counselling to the PLHAs for leading positive life, Training and counselling to the family members of the PLHAs and treatment with free medicine, they added. AAS official Md Mohsin said they provide drugs, including ARV (Anti Recto Virul), to the member patients free of cost. Amina's husband is now an employee at AAS and both of them get regular counselling as well as the medicine at the centre and living with their five-year-old son. Akram (not real name), a farmer and vegetable seller of Barabkunda, after being diagnosed HIV positive, faced many problems in running his business in his locality. He said people at the local market kicked my basket down several times to stop me selling vegetables. Local people changed the attitude towards Akram after AAS had launched an awareness campaign in the area. Rahman (not real name) said people need much time to be detected as the diagnosis of the deadly disease is not available here. Rahman, an expatriate in Bahrain for 13 years, was tested HIV positive in March this year. Dr Mansurul Alam, medical officer of Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH), said the diagnosis should be made available at local hospitals. Chittagong District Civil Surgeon Dr Jalal Uddin said HIV/AIDS in Bangladesh is still a talked about subject for overriding superstition. He said emphasis should be given on more awareness campaign as well as set up more centres like AAS in different areas to help the PLHAs leading a normal life.
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