RIGHTS-GUINEA: AIDS Orphans Face Frequent Discrimination

By Saliou Samb Reprint | | Print |

Saliou Samb

CONAKRY, Aug 27 2002 (IPS) - Guinea has more than 13,000 children, orphaned by AIDS, who face frequent discrimination, according to a non-governmental organisation (NGO).

The organisation, Stat Views International, shed light on the plight of the orphans during a recent conference held in Conakry, the capital of Guinea, to discuss the results of the first national study on HIV-infection rates in Guinea.

It noted that the number of AIDS orphans could surpass 92,000 by 2010 if steps were not taken to curtail the epidemic.

Djenabou Mdiaye Fofana, of the National Committee Against AIDS, says AIDS orphans are often discriminated against in Guinea, where the population knows little about the disease.

Dr. Bintou Bamba, president of the Association of Guinean Women Against HIV/AIDS, a non-governmental organisation, says “the problem of AIDS orphans is complex. Creating orphanages for them is not a solution because it doesn’t resolve their problems. In Africa, where extended families exist, we need to find a way to raise these children without damaging their psyches”.

‘’These orphans often face rejection. Right now we are dealing with the case of a woman whose husband died of AIDS. She, herself, has now fallen ill from the disease and her two little girls are likely to become orphans. We are trying desperately to convince her family to take the children in. People think that if they come near her, they will also get sick, which is clearly not the case,” says Bamba.

“We are presently developing a comprehensive project to provide support and education for these children, as well as find them foster families. It will be carried out over the course of a ten-year period,” says Fofana.

“Initially, there will be a five-year project which will provide health care and education for children four to 12 years of age; those from 14 to 16 will be given the opportunity to attend trade apprenticeship centres to facilitate their social and professional independence. But I must note that this is all still in the planning stages. We’re in the process of smoothing out the last few details. After that, we plan to seek funding,” she says.

“In any case, there are only two possibilities for these children: either we help them remain with their extended families, or send them to institutions,” she says.

Bamba says they “are currently negotiating with (pharmaceutical company) Laboratoires Boringer to supply us with Nevirapine, a drug which reduces mother-to-child infection. We hope we’ll be able to administer it to pregnant women living with the disease for free. But even if we can’t, it only costs four dollars. With the help of the government and the donors, we should somehow be able to obtain it so we can save lives”.

Former social services minister Dr. Mariama Djelo Barry, says “their goal is to ensure that the AIDS orphans are cared for from a social as well as medical perspective so we can provide them with an appropriate developmental environment, while not forgetting the parents who may still be alive”.

‘’We need to do a thorough accounting of all AIDS orphans and figure out who has lost only a single parent and who has lost both, in order to act more effectively,” she says.

With a population of eight million, the rate of HIV infection in Guinea is 2.8 percent. This figure has surpassed the UN’s 1.7 percent estimate for 2002.

Aliou Barryk, Stat Views International director, says “When the rate of HIV/infection reaches two percent in a country, AIDS has to be treated as a public health problem. If in 2001 we counted 114,000 HIV positive individuals, the number could rise to 290,000 by 2010”.

“This year (2002), 13,800 deaths have already been attributed to AIDS. In 2010, this number will reach 119,000 if there is no effective intervention,” he says.

Guinea has just been admitted to a programme that provides countries with anti-retroviral drugs at minimal cost. The lowest price for a course of treatment per month is about 300,000 Guinean francs (about 150 U.S. dollars), a figure out of reach of the average citizen. Around 60 percent of Guineans live below the poverty line on less than one U.S. dollar per day.

Djelo Barry says she is “concerned and worried” by the extent of HIV infections among sex workers: which is 42 percent nationally and 55 percent for the capital, Conakry.

She believes that sex workers should be licensed so that they become subject to regular medical checks.