Materia Medica Malaysiana

Policy needed to safeguard children with HIV

PENANG: An HIV-positive boy grew up lonely at a hospital in Penang after his parents abandoned him seven years ago when he was a baby.

The hospital authorities kept him in isolation because of his medical condition, said Community AIDS Service Penang (CASP) chairman Dr Ismail Baba.

“He grew up in such a sterile and lonely environment for seven years before he was placed in a children’s home several months ago,” he said.

It was an uphill task for CASP volunteers to enrol the boy in a primary school earlier this year. The boy was only accepted into Year 1 in April.

In another case, a nine-year-old girl with AIDS died alone last year.

“No one from her school or village visited her when she was sick and dying. Even the teachers did not call her parents to find out the reason for her prolonged absence,” he said, adding that such indifference would have lasting psychological effects on the affected children and their families.

Another pre-schooler had a hard time enrolling at a kindergarten because the operators demanded a medical report after hearing rumours that her parents were HIV positive.

“Schools have no right to make such demands,” he said.

Dr Ismail urged the Government to draw a national policy to protect HIV/AIDS children against discrimination and neglect.

“There is an urgent need to formulate a legal policy to protect the 6,000 children who are affected by HIV/ AIDS,” he said, adding that the Health Ministry had until last December recorded 598 HIV/AIDS cases among children under 12.