Letter from a Concerned Individual in Niger
The stigmatization of people living with HIV/AIDS continues to be one of the most serious threats to stopping the spread of the virus. In rural West Africa, testing positive can lead to an individual's exclusion from many domestic activities as well as social rejection from the community and even expulsion from the village. In a society where family is the social welfare system, the very possibility of this happening discourages many people from getting tested.
"The stigma attached to AIDS here is that it is a death sentence," said Drew Schmenner, the HIV/AIDS Coordinator for Peace Corps Niger. "When people find out that they have AIDS, [the illness] is usually very pronounced. They don't understand that it can lay dormant in the body for years."
Drew speaks from personal experience. Recently, he received a letter from a Nigerien friend living in the provincial town of Maradi. This man, whose name is withheld, was very concerned about the health of his younger sister. She was pregnant at the time and displayed a number of symptoms associated with AIDS. Reprinted below, in its original form and with permission, is the letter. It sheds some light on the influence of stigmatization and misinformation on the family life of a sick individual:
I am so worried about my sister health. The week you went to Zinder, she was critically sick, she vomited for three days and logically lost weight. I proposed to her to test her blood to see exactly what is wrong with her. She refused and rejected anything related to blood. She is very scare because for her own understanding AIDS is synonymous to curse. Moreover, she is surrounded by an ignorant world. Also, she is morally weak, she is able to commit suicide. She did it seven years ago, I was the one who rescued her life.
The problem dwells in our doubt whether she is affected or not. There is no accurate proof which justifies she is affected. Suspicion is not scientific. In this situation, we need a certain level of secrecy and diplomacy.
I do not know how to convince her to accept the blood test. Don't you have any other strategies to persuade her? Don't you have any female friends among the Peace Corps? If yes, I would her to be my sister's friend. Already, I feel that she suffers of rejection. It's my duty to give her hope of staying or living. It is a shame that we're going to resume [university]. At home, I am the one who is the most interested in it.
Please, do you have contact with any NGOs fighting against AIDS. If really she is affected, it would be nice for you to link her with them... I wish you will do something to save a life.
Postscript:
Upon receiving this letter, Drew advised her to seek counseling and get tested in Galmi, which is the only testing and treatment center regularly operating outside the capital. The center is about two hundred kilometers west of the woman's home in Maradi. The woman visited the center and tested positive; she currently visits the center on a monthly basis for her treatment. People in her situation are not usually able to afford the transportation, food, lodging and medical costs of this life-saving regimen. This particular woman is sustained by the regular charity of an expatriate friend.
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