Positive HIV test is not a death sentence
Jan 20, 2009
Last week, a young couple is reported to have committed suicide after testing HIV-positive at Kabale Hospital. <br>Gasper Obingu-Onzi and Lydia Nyirebukyo took poison when they learnt of their sero status. The two were planning to wed this month.
Last week, a young couple is reported to have committed suicide after testing HIV-positive at Kabale Hospital. Gasper Obingu-Onzi and Lydia Nyirebukyo took poison when they learnt of their sero status. The two were planning to wed this month.
The death of the young couple is tragic and comes as a surprise given the knowledge and experience Uganda has on HIV/AIDS.
There is a campaign about universal testing, encouraging couples to take an HIV test before or as they plan to get married. This seems logical as testing is the only sure way people can determine that they are HIV-free or not.
Knowing one’s sero status is essential because it gives people the opportunity to make informed choices. In the event of discordancy, the negative partner must be protected through consistently and correctly using condoms.
The infected partner can be advised when to start treatment. It also gives the couple the opportunity to seek medical intervention early enough to prevent mother-to-child infection if both partners are infected but want to have children.
An HIV-positive couple who know their status can avoid re-infection by sticking to safe sex.
However, in the light of the tragic incident, one wonders whether enough time was committed to pre-test or post-test counselling. Discovering that one is positive weeks or days before a wedding may be an experience too traumatic for a person or persons to endure.
There is also the issue of stigma. This arises from uneducated attitudes by society. The role of religion in particular is ambiguous in this. Sometimes religion calls for care and compassion. But more often than not, it is judgmental and condemnatory. But with the life-saving ARVs today, and positive living, patients need not live in the shadow of death and must be assured that they can still live useful and productive lives.
The death of the young couple should make us reflect on the success of our moral campaigns against AIDS.
The death of the young couple is tragic and comes as a surprise given the knowledge and experience Uganda has on HIV/AIDS.
There is a campaign about universal testing, encouraging couples to take an HIV test before or as they plan to get married. This seems logical as testing is the only sure way people can determine that they are HIV-free or not.
Knowing one’s sero status is essential because it gives people the opportunity to make informed choices. In the event of discordancy, the negative partner must be protected through consistently and correctly using condoms.
The infected partner can be advised when to start treatment. It also gives the couple the opportunity to seek medical intervention early enough to prevent mother-to-child infection if both partners are infected but want to have children.
An HIV-positive couple who know their status can avoid re-infection by sticking to safe sex.
However, in the light of the tragic incident, one wonders whether enough time was committed to pre-test or post-test counselling. Discovering that one is positive weeks or days before a wedding may be an experience too traumatic for a person or persons to endure.
There is also the issue of stigma. This arises from uneducated attitudes by society. The role of religion in particular is ambiguous in this. Sometimes religion calls for care and compassion. But more often than not, it is judgmental and condemnatory. But with the life-saving ARVs today, and positive living, patients need not live in the shadow of death and must be assured that they can still live useful and productive lives.
The death of the young couple should make us reflect on the success of our moral campaigns against AIDS.