Parents who give birth to HIV/Aids positive babies usually find it hard to tell the children about their status. But experts advise that the children be told, as early as eight years, writes Evelyn Lirri

Ruth Kabahumuza discovered she was HIV/Aids positive in 1998 during one of her antennal visits.  She was two months pregnant then. The news came as a shock to her because it was one of the least things she expected would happen to her at the time. 

“I started shedding tears, the counselor talked to me and requested me to come with my husband for blood test,” she said.
When Ms Kabahumuza told her husband about her status, he told her to take care of her sickness. 
“He told me, I am sorry I cannot go and test myself. If you are HIV/Aids positive, please go and treat yourself, I am not ready to go there (to be tested),” she narrates. ***image1***

Her husband, who refused to test for HIV/Aids passed away in 1999. Even then, she said he refused to go to hospital, lived in denial and preferred to be treated from home.
At the time of giving birth, Ms Kabahumuza was given Niverapine-a drug that helps to prevent mother-to-child transmission. But unfortunately, she still gave birth to an HIV positive baby girl.

Ms Kabahumuza narrated her ordeal on Monday at Mulago Hospital, during a ceremony where a new Sh2 billion centre that will provide a comprehensive Aids treatment for families affected and infected with HIV/Aids was opened.

The Zayed Makerere University Johns Hopkins University Family Centre will house a clinic and a nutritional centre under the Makerere University-Johns Hopkins University Research Collaboration (MU-JHU), which has been conducting HIV/Aids prevention research, medical care and training since 1988 with the aim of increasing access to anti retroviral therapy and providing family based comprehensive HIV/Aids services. 

The facility was opened by State Minister for General Duties Richard Nduhura. The function was attended by Dr Nelson Ssewankambo, the Principal Makerere  College of Health Sciences, Dr Edward Ddumba, the executive director Mulago Hospital and Mr Sam Akorimo, the University Secretary Makerere University.
With the onset of better and accessible treatment, many children born with HIV/Aids have lived to see their adult life. But the challenge many of the parents of these children face is how to disclose to the children that they are HIV/Aids positive.

Ms Kabahumuza said initially it was not easy but because her daughter, now 11 years, demanded to know why she was taking drugs every day yet her siblings did not do so, she gained the courage and told her.

The child learnt about her status in 2006 when she was nine years old.
“I used to ask my mother why I was taking medicine everyday when I was not sick. She told me because of the skin rush that I had all over my body and the cough. But time came when the skin rush disappeared and I was no longer coughing but she kept on giving me drugs,” narrated the girl, adding  “I asked her again and she told me ‘you are still young to know why you are taking drugs.’” 
The next time Awori said she refused to take the drugs unless she was given reasons.
“It was then, that my mother sat me down and told me my father had died of HIV/Aids and that I was also infected. She encouraged me and told me that I will live for more years than I think and that I will study up to the university,” she said.

According to Dr Philippa Musoke, the principal Investigator a MU-JHU where Ms Kabahumuza and her daughter are accessing anti retroviral treatment, it is important to disclose to children their status when they are still young.
“We usually recommend that at eight years, you can start telling the children. But you don’t tell them they are HIV/Aids positive. You can tell them you have a chronic illness, your immunity is not okay and as they get older you need to tell them that their body’s problem is HIV,” Dr Musoke said.
She adds that by 12, a child who is born with HIV/Aids should already know their status.

“We found that when you disclose to the children when they are younger, they grow up with the disease but when you disclose when they are teenagers, they have a hard time dealing with it because many of them are infected by their mothers and don’t know how to respond to the tragic news,” Dr Musoke said.
A child getting to know their status before they become teenagers also helps them to adhere to medication which is crucial for their future survival, according to Dr Musoke.

“Being in a supportive family environment where the family member’s HIV status is not a hidden secret makes a big difference as they grow up, enabling they to grow positively,” Dr Musoke further explained.
 
For Ms Kabahumuza, it has been a huge relief since opening up to her daughter about her status. “My daughter now goes around the community telling people about HIV/Aids because she has accepted her condition and she knows she will live for long,” Ms Kabahumuza said.