Caring for children affected by HIV: Active involvement needed
ARV treatment for people with HIV/AIDS in our province started in 2006, and to date, about 1,600 people, including 89 children, have benefited from this program. The effectiveness of ARV treatment for children is considered very good, but there are still many difficulties and problems that need to be supported and resolved promptly.
(Baonghean)ARV treatment for people with HIV/AIDS in our province started in 2006, and to date, about 1,600 people, including 89 children, have benefited from this program. The effectiveness of ARV treatment for children is considered very good, but there are still many difficulties and problems that need to be supported and resolved promptly.
Every Tuesday morning, at the outpatient clinic and treatment room for infected children of the Life Gap Project located at the Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital, HIV-infected children in the province gather here to be examined and given medicine by doctors. Coming here, seeing the innocent, immature faces, thin, weak bodies, timid and fearful attitudes when interacting with strangers of the children makes everyone feel sorry... Meeting and talking with the families of the children being managed and treated, we know that the treatment for the children is facing many obstacles, such as HVP (8 years old, in Ky Son district) whose father died of AIDS, and both mother and child were infected by the father. Due to the nature of her work, P's mother had to send her child to an uncle in Nghi Loc district to take care of. However, P was not able to take medicine regularly because her family's awareness of the disease was limited. The same is true of PA (5 years old) in Do Luong district. In 2007, my parents died of AIDS, when I was only 5 months old, PA lived with my grandfather (80 years old), now my grandfather's health is also weak, every time I go to get medicine, the road is far, difficult and expensive...
Giving gifts to HIV-infected children being treated at the outpatient clinic of Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital. Photo: Tu Thanh.
Dr. Nguyen Van Son - Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases and Head of the Outpatient Clinic and Treatment Department, Provincial Maternity and Pediatrics Hospital, said: Currently, the clinic is managing and providing ARV treatment for 89 children infected with HIV, and is considered one of the best clinics in the country. ARV drugs are provided in full and timely manner; treatment is highly effective (no complications or deaths), the treatment process is correct and accurate, with little or no opportunistic diseases; in cases where children are treated well, have stable health and go to school normally like other children, children under 18 months old are supported with nutrition (according to regulations, children will be provided with milk, sugar, rice, cooking oil worth 300,000 VND/child/month and received within 6 months). However, the vast majority of infected children are in very difficult family circumstances: their father, mother or both parents have passed away, and they have to live with their grandparents who are old, have poor health, and lack knowledge about the disease; The family's economic situation is difficult, so the conditions for child care are limited. In particular, most of these families live far away, so traveling is very difficult and expensive because they have to go get medicine every month (2-4 times a month), so ARV treatment, especially for children affected by HIV, is still facing many difficulties.
In addition, the process of taking medicine is very important, requiring the right time and schedule. However, due to the young age, serious illness, low resistance, taking many types of medicine at the same time, taking it on time is very difficult, when taking this medicine, it is easy to vomit, so the child absorbs the medicine poorly into the body, making the treatment process longer. Meanwhile, it is expected that by 2015, the Life Gap Project will end, so there is not much funding left, this has led to the amount of medicine for the children decreasing, the nutritional regimen for children over 18 months old who are on ARV treatment has been cut. Another difficulty is that in the process of treating children, doctors and nurses have to come into direct contact with toxic environments and other dangerous diseases (because in addition to being infected with HIV, children also have other accompanying diseases such as tuberculosis, P. leptospirosis, etc., which are easily transmitted and difficult to treat) and especially when using a needle to take blood for testing or injections for children, it is easy to get pricked by the needle (exposure treatment is required). The allowance for medical staff doing this work is still modest (1.2 million VND/person/month, even only received once every 3-4 months), which partly affects their working spirit and leads to a reduction in the number of staff serving in this work.
Dr. Trinh Hung Tien - Deputy Director of the Provincial HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Center, said: “To overcome the difficulties in ARV treatment for children affected by HIV/AIDS, it is necessary to have the active participation of all levels, sectors and the community. Propaganda work needs to be further promoted, especially in remote areas so that children infected with HIV can receive timely ARV treatment, have care combined with appropriate nutrition. It is necessary to eliminate discrimination and stigma against children infected with HIV and they must still go to school like other healthy children. Medical staff working in this field need timely and appropriate allowances to encourage their spirit to work with peace of mind. Caring for children infected with HIV does not stop at giving them ARV drugs to improve their health, but the difficulty is to bring innocence to children, help them understand their illness correctly and integrate into the community like a normal child”.
Hien Trang (Provincial Information and Education Center)
