Online Reporter
Robin Muchetu in Nkayi, Health and Gender Editor
“WE end up taking our ARVs hidden in cobra tins because we will not have disclosed our HIV statuses to our partners. It is difficult for us.”
This is the plight of young people whose HIV statuses are initially hidden from them by their guardians and parents such that they eventually fail to disclose to their partners when they start dating.
Young people from Zinyangeni area in Nkayi District, Matabeleland North Province have raised their voices over some of the challenges they face as they graduate into courtship as people living with HIV.
“As young people we also get to dating stages and we will not have disclosed our HIV status to our partners, at times we elope and start living with them. We end up drinking our ARVs hidden in cobra tins. Eventually we stop taking them so that we are not seen by our lovers and it affects our overall health. It is difficult to take ARVs while hiding them from your partner,” said one young person with the virus.
Left to care for her three grandchildren, all HIV positive, Gogo Sethule Ncube* (not her real name) also from Zinyangeni area has ensured that the children have access to lifesaving Antiretrovirals (ARVs). She does the regular collection of the drugs from the local clinic and makes sure that her grandchildren take the drugs at 7pm daily and the children are aware of their status.
While this is the ideal situation, several adolescent boys and girls are defaulting from taking their ARV’s as there is sometimes non-disclosure of their status from guardians together with limited or no monitoring of the actual consumption of the medicines religiously.
National Aids Councils’ Community Adolescent Treatment Supporter (CATS) programme has been a game changer in ensuring that adolescents take their medications with some motivation and encouragement from a peer their age. The programme was introduced to ensure that young people have another young person who helps them in adhering to ART, pill collection, peer support and any challenges that they come up with.
The youthful cadres devote their time to encourage their peers to adhere to HIV treatment are an important part of the treatment journey of young people with HIV. The CATS are young people openly living with HIV.
A young person from Zinyangeni who is part of the CATS programmes gave a perspective as to why teens sometimes default.
“We encourage our peers to take tablets on time every day, but during our meetings with young people, they tell us that they stopped taking the ARVs initially because they were never told why they were taking the tablets daily and for what condition. Many have been taking them for years and suddenly stop as they do not know what they are for and have no reason to take them. It is then important that parents and guardians come out clean and disclose the status of their children or grandchildren to them so that they are aware,” she said.
She said some teens collect the ARVs from the clinics and simply do not drink them.
“They collect and do not drink them; this then causes their viral load to be high. When we visit them for pill counts, we discover the bottles are unopened and they have not been taking their medication. We then also speak to the parents or guardians to monitor the taking of ARVs closely and avoid defaulting,” she added.
Zinyangeni Rural Health Centre officials said the relationship phase of young people is also a critical stage where they are having challenges of disclosing their status.
“When young people start dating, disclosure is difficult for them. It’s a process for them. So, they need to discuss HIV and share their status so that there is no risk of infecting their partners.
“For young women you find that they may get into a new relationship or marriage and they do not disclose their HIV status to their partners. This over time forces her to hide the tablets and drink them sporadically leading to defaulting which is what we do not want,” said one of the officials.
They highlighted that some young people attend support groups with CATS without knowing about their own status’ as parents/caregivers will not have disclosed to them. This has led to children being aggressive when they eventually know their status late.
However, caregivers were encouraged to slowly disclose to their adolescents so that they accept and adhere to treatment.
Some young people, by virtue of being young and mobile, especially in mining communities like Nkayi, frequently go for gold panning or setting with their partners and they get carried away and default.
They said some will be embarrassed that they are taking ARVs and do not want their peers to know so they stop taking their medication and the effects are devastating.
They however said it is important to disclose your HIV status to people close to you so that they also act as a support system.
At the health centre, they said psychosocial support services are available for those that are dating and want to disclose to their partners.
@NyembeziMu
