Daily Times

PESHAWAR: Years long illness of an HIV positive mother has made it difficult for her two grown-up daughters to find suitable matches to get married as several marriage proposals have been rejected only because people don’t want to bring a bride home whose mother is HIV positive.

Bushra, 45 was living with HIV for some years and besides many other problems she faced stigma of being HIV positive, she felt herself in immense problemsin getting her daughters married in time.

“I myself asked so many families to come visit us and see my beautiful daughters and get them married in to their families. However, everybody step back when they find out about my illness,” Bushra told this scribe as her tears rolled down her face.

She further said that no one in her family was HIV patient but when she went for her check up to Hayatabad Medical Complex Peshawar where the doctors diagnosed her HIV. “Despite being educated, people straight away conclude that an HIV person is involved in immoral activities and that’s how they got HIV. As if illegal sexual activities were the only reason for getting the virus. There are many other ways for a person to get infected with the virus,” she argued.

According to HIV/AIDS Control Programme around 2,643 patients of HIV were registered with KP AIDS Control Programme. Off them 2,341 were registered in the record books of Hayatabad Medical Complex Family Care Centre. The number of male HIV patients registered with the HMC was 1,781 while 587 were female patients. According to the United Nation’s Office on Drug Abuse and Crime Report, there are around 94,000 HIV positive patients in Pakistan, the second largest number in South Asia. There are about 16,000 unregistered HIV patients in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while around 47,000 injecting drug users (IDUs) share syringes due to the unavailability of sterile needles in the country.

Last month a transgender Diwani, affected with the HIV/AIDS died in Peshawar at the HMC. Unfortunately, there was no cleric to lead her funeral prayers as many people gathered to take part in her last rituals. The funeral had to be delayed as a cleric had to be brought to Peshawar from Nowshera district. Trans Alliance President Farzana working for transgender in Peshawar said that there are around 55, 000 transgender in KP among them around 20 per cent transgender were living with HIV.

She further said that the government was announced budget and other incentives for transgender in the provincial budget but nothing was given to transgender community.

“When the transgender went for treatment to the hospital, not only the common people were laughing after them but the doctors also made fun of them and laughed at them,” Farzana added.

Subhan Ali,Project Manager Community & Home Base Care, a project of Khwando Kor (KK) and National Aids Control Programme while said that they have around eight HIV positive patients in Peshawar.

He further said that their organization also working with the patients of HIV to promote their courage and hope and eliminate the negative stigma in the community about HIV patients.

When Contacted HIV/AIDS Control Program KP Manager Dr Ayub Rose said that the provincial government has approved around Rs500 million budgets in PC-1 and treatment were providing across the province to HIV/Aids patients free of cost.

He further informed that there are two family centers working for HIV patients in KP as one is in Hayatabad Family Care Centre while the other centre is in Kohat, adding that soon more family care centers for HIV patients will be established in district level.

About the negative stigma in the society towards HIV patients he said that HIV/Aids can happen to everyone and it didn’t only happen because of illegal sexual relations but it will also happen of usable syringes etc.

He further informed that in the two centers like in Hayatabad and Kohat there were psychologist available for the HIV patients and they were guiding the HIV positive patients to end the negative stigma. The facilities also helped the patients to deal with the problems they faced in the society and other challenges.