AIDS group moves to protect rights of victims

The National AIDS Coordinating Committee (NACC) has entered into partnership with the United Nations Development Programme to conduct a legislative assessment and draft new legislation to help protect the human rights of people living with HIV/AIDS. Dr Amery Browne, technical director of the NACC disclosed this to Sunday Newsday last week while giving his views on a media report about two HIV-positive boys being removed from a house in Carenage following an anonymous call to the Four Roads Police.

The boys are now warded and receiving treatment at the Wendy Fitzwilliam Paediatric Hospital, Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope. Their HIV-positive mother was quoted as saying she stopped taking them for treatment because she was afraid of discrimination. Dr Browne said “serious steps” are being taken to address stigma and discrimination in TT. In addition to legislation, he said the NACC is seeking to increase the level of public education about HIV, “because with knowledge comes power.” He said people with HIV/AIDS are afraid to disclose their status because they may lose their jobs and place in society.

Dr Browne said it was unfortunate the situation with the family would still occur in a country in which Government was treating patients with HIV, including children, with free antiretroviral drugs. “It tells us that the solution to this epidemic is not just in medication, but in changing the way we treat ourselves and others,” said Browne. Commenting on the the media reports of HIV/AIDS cases, Dr Browne said there had been increased sensitivity in recent reporting. “There is much less of the sensationalism of the past, and we recognise that the names of the mother and children in this case were withheld. This is a good sign that some progress is being made with respect to confidentiality.”