As Nigeria joined the global community to mark the 2022 World AIDS Day, some adolescents living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus in Nigeria share how they are coping with the health condition. They spoke about the difficulty of consistently adhering to antiretroviral therapy while concealing their HIV-positive status from family and friends due to fear of stigma. ANGELA ONWUZOO reports
Until he was 14 years old, Jide, now 21, was not aware he was HIV-positive although he was on medication daily. His parents concealed his status from him but ensured he was faithful to his ART.
But the fashion designer, who simply wants to be identified as Jide for fear of stigma, said it was his refusal to continue with the routine drugs that compelled his father to disclose his status to him through one of the doctors in a facility where he was accessing treatment.
Jide, who lost his mother to AIDS when he was 10 years old, said he was traumatised when the doctor broke the news of his HIV status to him but was assured by the doctor that he could still lead a normal life and achieve his dreams if he adhered to his medications.
The Oyo State indigene told our correspondent that his father who is also HIV-positive advised him not to disclose his status to his friends and family members to avoid stigma and negative treatment from them.
Sharing his experience with PUNCH HealthWise, the fashion designer narrated, “I have been taking ART since I was born. I never knew I was born with HIV. My mother died of AIDS when I was 10 years old and I never thought that that was what killed her. I only got to know after I became aware of my status at 14.
Hidden truth
“So, when she was alive, she and my father will be giving me drugs every day to swallow. But when I asked why I was taking drugs every day and my elder sister was not, my parents told me that it was for cough, typhoid, and malaria. And they monitored me closely to make sure that I took the drugs.
“This continued until my mother died and she still didn’t disclose my status to me even though I got infected through her. So, after her demise, my father took over her responsibility of making sure I take my medications daily.
“At some point when I was 14 years old, I became frustrated taking the drugs knowing that I do not have malaria, typhoid, and cough as claimed by my parents.
Jide said he became more frustrated taking his medications when he had no sign of illness.
Continuing, he said, “Moreso, my friends started asking me why I was on daily medications when I was looking healthy and had no sickle cell anaemia.
“Also, each time my father takes me to the hospital, they will give me drugs without finding out whether I was actually sick or not. If I should ask my father the reason for my going to the hospital to collect drugs since I am hale and hearty, he will shout at me and ask me to keep quiet.
“So, when my father could not give me genuine reasons when I asked him over and over again why I was on medications and my elder sister was not on drugs like me, I vowed not to take the medications again.
“When my father saw that I meant it after issuing several threats, he took me to the health facility where we normally go to get the drugs.
Traumatised
“It was there that one of the doctors broke the news to me. When he told me that I was HIV-positive, I screamed and started crying.
“I was traumatised and thought the end has come for me because all I have been hearing on the radio and seeing in the movies about HIV are negative things.”
The fashion designer, however, told our correspondent that counselling helped him to come out of shock when the doctor told him that he was HIV-positive
“But the doctor took time to counsel and assure me that being diagnosed with HIV is not a death sentence.
“He told me that I could lead a healthy life and achieve my dreams if I adhere to my treatment.
“I got relieved and came out of the shock after the counselling. It was after I got to know my status that my father disclosed his own status to me.
“Thereafter, he advised me not to disclose my status to anybody, especially to family members and friends so that I will not suffer the stigma associated with the infection.
“It was then that I also got to know that my mother died of AIDS. My father told me that my mother died of AIDS and not severe malaria and typhoid that were blamed for her death.
“But my elder sister does not have it. We are just two. So, since then, I have been trying to cope with it and by the grace of God, I am doing well,” he said.
Jide, however, told PUNCH HealthWise that living with HIV in a country like Nigeria where people living with the infection still suffer stigma as a result of poor knowledge of the health condition was challenging.
He went on, “It has not been easy living with HIV really. For me, the challenge is not the stigma per se but the daily intake of the drugs.
Adherence to medication difficult
“Sometimes, adherence to my medication becomes difficult because I don’t want people to know my status. I have a couple of friends and they are not aware of my status.
“My family members are not aware that my father and I are HIV-positive because we refused to disclose our status to them. I avoid taking my drugs in the presence of my friends and family members and I don’t joke about it.
My girlfriend unaware of my status
“But I have a girlfriend who is HIV-negative. I have not disclosed my status yet to her. I plan to do that soon if I find out that she truly loves me and will accept me with my condition.”
Experts say parents should ensure that they disclose the status of their children living with HIV to them, warning that it is not proper for parents to conceal the status of their children who are positive from them.
Children should know their HIV status
Speaking in an exclusive with PUNCH HealthWise, a Deputy Director of Research at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Yaba, Lagos, Dr. Agatha David, said although there is no specific age for disclosure, by age of eight, HIV-positive children should start knowing their status.
David, who is a Consultant Paediatrician in the Clinical Services Department of the institute, explained, “From the age of eight, parents should begin to tell them that you have this health condition so that by 12 years, we should have had full disclosure.
“When children don’t know why they are taking drugs or coming to the hospital, they are not likely to adhere to their treatment and the matter of disclosing to their peers is an issue that needs to be handled with a lot of counselling.
“This is because some of these peers have not reached a cognitive level to handle the information so that they don’t expose themselves to unnecessary stigma and discrimination.
