HIV-positive children victims of discrimination

NST: KUALA LUMPUR: When Sarimah (not her real name) and her husband adopted a baby girl, they knew she was the child of a sex worker and a drug addict.
Four years later they found that their daughter was HIV-positive.
The little girl began vomiting constantly and had terrible diarrhoea. Their family doctor recommended screening her for HIV.
After the initial shock and thoughts of giving her up, their love for their daughter reasserted itself.
"We accepted her as a gift, a blessing from God to look after. Not everyone gets the chance to help God to help others," Sarimah said.
It has been 11 years since the diagnosis, and Sarimah says she and her husband have told no-one about her condition.
"I’m afraid that other parents won’t allow their children to mix with my daughter."
Sarimah says they have not informed her daughter’s school that she is HIV-positive either.
She is worried the teachers might talk about it and her friends will tease her, and it could affect her studies.
Chuah (not his real name), and his wife only found out their adopted son was HIV-positive when he was six years old.
Their immediate family members are aware of his condition and are slowly coming to terms with it.
But they are afraid of what will happen if they make their son’s condition more widely known.
"Our conservative society may discriminate against our son," says Chuah.
Charumathy (not her real name) and her family have been more open about the fact that the little girl they adopted is HIV-positive, and they have felt the consequences.
"Many of my neighbours say I am stupid to accept the girl as my daughter, knowing that it isn’t easy to look after her and that she may die."
Charumathy says her relatives don’t allow their children to play with her daughter, fearing she may pass on the virus that causes AIDS while talking or laughing with them.
Malaysian AIDS Foundation (MAF) are aware of 651 children below the age 12 infected with HIV/AIDS who have been abandoned or orphaned.
Fewer than 15 have been adopted. The rest are being taken care of in 10 homes nationwide.
Besides the medical challenges of raising an HIV-positive child, people fear discrimination from family, friends and society in general.
Associate Prof Dr Norlijah Othman, head of paediatrics of Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at University Putra Malaysia, says Malaysians must change their mindset on HIV-positive children.
"We must accept them just like any other children," she says.
"They are not to blame for being HIV-positive. They are like, but unlike, other children. They are counting their days."