No public health value keeping HIV positive kids from learning- UN

Nigeria’s HIV epidemic affects all population groups and geographic areas of the country. Consequently, February 2015, the Federal Government signed into law the HIV/AIDS anti-discrimination bill to protect the rights and dignity of people living with HIV. Thus, making it illegal to discriminate against people based on their HIV status.

In this fifth and concluding part of the investigative series across seven states in Nigeria- Ogun, Lagos, Edo, Delta, Imo, Benue and the FCT Abuja, TOBORE OVUORIE, in her diary-like session, narrates traumatic experiences of children of school age living with HIV. She travels with these kids- back and forth- different phases of their lives full of discrimination, stigmatization, shaming and isolation by the society. The investigation also discloses how kids living with the virus are denied their human rights to educational opportunities.

 

THE STORY’S ARRIVAL

It all began sometime in February 2018 when I pitched a story; this story actually, to the Code For Africa. I was to decide everything editorial. The states to be combined and those to go independent in the publications. Code For Africa, as a policy, has no control whatever over editorials.

My-colleague-turned-to-friend-and-sister, Vanessa Offiong of Daily Trust Newspaper, had introduced me to the group. So, I confided in her. She warned me not to go to any school around where I live.

“Don’t even go to a school within the jurisdiction where you live. Tobore, we are Nigerians. The news will spread so fast that your kids have HIV. You don’t want to start hunting for a new apartment because your landlord won’t understand.”

The story?

I was to move around as many schools as possible, across seven states, on a simple mission: to find out if the school authorities will grant my kids admission without any form of biases because of their health status.

What about their health status?

They are supposedly living with HIV.

Yes! The Human Immunodeficiency Virus.

“MY MUMMY SAID I SHOULD NOT PLAY WITH YOU AGAIN BECAUSE YOU ARE DANGEROUS. I WILL DIE IF I DO.”

“My mummy said I should not play with you again.” Mimidoo’s head was bowed. Mivaaga sat arm-to-arm with her. She rubbed Mimidoo’s back with her left hand.

“Why did her mum tell her that?”

No response. Didn’t raise her head either. Mivaaga gave me what I needed. “That we are dangerous.”

I sighed. Deeply.

“That she will die if she comes close to us.” Mimidoo raised her head but staring at something invisible in the air. She was yet pained though it happened eight years ago.

I had known it would be very emotional taking these 13 year old girls back to when they were five years old. But I never expected this. Dissociation. She was there physically, her eyes wide open but had left Mivaaga and I.

I stopped the interview.

I stood up, walked across from where I was seated in the living room, went on my knees and arranged her legs together with her feet firmly on the ground. And placed her palms on her thighs. Mivaaga continued rubbing her back with her palm. This time, had slid it under Mimidoo’s blouse.

I gently called her name to see if she could hear me. She was still staring at the unseen stuff in the air. Lips sealed. I told her she is safe. No one can shame or bully her anymore. And what happened is not her fault. The persons who shamed them are the ones to cover their faces in shame. Not her. Not her sister.

Some minutes later, her fingers started moving as I kept talking gently to her. Their mother all the while had returned to the living room and sat beside her. I had made signs with my hands that she should not hold her yet. Goose pimples had taken over Mimidoo’s body. And tears began the stroll down her very pretty oval chocolate-colored face. Two whitish snakes at unequal intervals, possibly looked to the left and right, to ensure they were safe, then started crawling out of her nostrils.

“This is part of what I have been going through,” their mum looked very sad.

“She is having flashbacks,” I whispered.

“What’s that?” Mrs. Betty Terfa asked.

“She is remembering the terrible experiences but as if they are happening now.”

“You are a doctor?” the twin’s mother was now curious. She knew me to be a reporter.

“No.” I took my eyes off Mimidoo and focused them on Mrs. Terfa.

Our eyes jammed. She didn’t take hers away. I did. Gave them to Mimidoo, again.

“In 2014 I struggled too. Badly. I was shipped away to America. That is where social health workers and other medical caregivers taught me these. And a lot more.”

“They (people) told you bad things too?” Mivaaga found her voice. Though shaky and had lost its jingles.

“Yes. They did. But I don’t permit them anymore.”

“How do you do it?” Mivaaga was becoming curious.

“Now, I end any discussion that is not good for my health. It doesn’t matter who the other person is. I create distance with people who affect me negatively. I now create boundaries and let such people know what I will take and what I won’t ever tolerate.”

“And they worked for you?” Their mum too was curious.

“Yes. They have. Now, my mind is at rest and I feel very confident again like I used to be.”

“Please, can you teach the girls?”

“Of course. Today, I will teach them some grounding techniques and other coping mechanisms.”

“You are not doing the interview again?”

“I can’t continue today.”

“But, you came all the way from Lagos for it?”

“I know. But the health and safety of whoever I am interviewing is crucial to me. I must never re-traumatize anyone who has survived difficult experiences. My conscience won’t let me. Especially as I have been there before and know how it feels.”

“Hmmmn.” Mrs. Terfa sighed deeply.

“Yes. Rather, I help such persons.”

“Ok.” She was staring at me, so didn’t notice when Mimidoo returned to us.

I pulled a white plastic chair idling away in a corner. Sat opposite the girls and started putting them through breathing exercises.

“Gently take a deep breath. Hold it while I count one to 20.”

They did.

“Now, gradually breath out.”

They did. Their mum joined us. I continued at it for over 15 minutes before moving onto other coping skills.

Though the interview was canceled, I didn’t consider my first workday in Makurdi, Benue state, a waste.

…

“CAN’T ADMIT HIV POSITIVE KIDS IN THIS SCHOOL. WE HAVE A STANDARD. WE ALWAYS KEEP IT. WE MUST MAINTAIN IT…!”

I had spent over five minutes going through the school fees breakdown for Famous Group of Schools, Okpaka, Warri in Delta state. I had lamented bitterly that the N30,000 slated for just books for primary one is quite exorbitant.

Mr. Eli the school administrator, kept repeating theirs is a standard school. “Look at the facilities we have here…Education is the best legacy you can give to your kids…” he reeled with a sort of plastic foreign accent.

I had developed enough shock absorber when he gave me the breakdown for primary three. It was for my supposed son.

Then, I went on to tell him there was something more I needed to share but didn’t know if it would be sort of a challenge for the school. “One of them is HIV positive,” I calmly announced.

Mr. Eli screamed. The ‘W-H-A-T!?” sounded like a puppy learning how to bark but something in its throat stifling the outpouring.

He immediately regained himself. Recovered his foreign accent. Then apologized. “Oh. Sorry. Emmm…”

I continued like nothing happened. “The one in primary two. So, hope you people don’t mind.”

Mr. Eli interjected. “Wait. The one you talk about in primary two is…?”

“Yeah,” I filled the blank space.

“Did I hear you clearly again?”

“Yeah. So, hope you guys don’t mind admitting the child in school.”

“Emm. Ok. Emmm. Emmm. Emmm.” He kept repeating the “emmm.” Then continued “This is emmmm, emmmm, emmmmm. This is emmmmm, emmmm. Emmmm. Emmmm. You know, emmmm. Ok.”

He tried to recover from the shock, I think, of meeting the mother of a HIV positive kid. Then asked “how old is the child?

“Six years,” I answered.

“Ok. Ok. Ok. Ok. Emmm. It’s a, it’s a, it’s a, you know, these things are, wow! Oh gawd (God). Ok. I will put it this way.”

He paused for some seconds. It seemed like forever to me.

Then he continued. “How about the one, the seven?”

“No. That one is not (HIV positive).”

“Ok. It’s just the,” we both chorused “the one in primary two.”

“Ok. Alright. Alright. So, this is what I’m going to tell you. Emmm. We always seek the best and at the same time, like I told you, we have a standard, and that standard, we always like to keep. And we have to maintain it.”

He reeled on “It’s not us. It’s about people who have their children here. I welcome this child if it’s to be my decision to make. I will like to have this child be a part, you know, but the issue here are the guardians; parents, you know, with their peer groups, if they come to find out, it can escalate.”

I already knew where he was headed but allowed him reel on.

“And we would not want to put the child in that kind of risk. To us, it’s a risk. And it’s a risk to the child. And it’s also a risk to us because we have all the children. And parents don’t want to hear such a thing. Hope you are getting my picture.”

“Yeah, I am getting it,” I answered though I was actually confused.

“I welcome her. But this reason, you know, it is well. It is well. For the other child of three, class three, I think, that one is welcome. I don’t know, for this child,”

“So, that means we have to bring only the one for primary three.” It was a statement. Not a question. I helped him hit the nail.

“That would be fine. That’s fine. That’s fine by us.”

I sighed.

“It’s just emmm, you know, it’s glorious! This is wonderful! Emmmm. Like I said, we don’t want to put the child in some certain level, and they are still children. It’s different. I hope you understand that.”

I stressed my ok.

“Right then,” he continued.

I told him I would keep in touch and thanked him while he stressed the “you are welcome.” He allowed me go with the school fees breakdown. But before leaving, he asked for my name.

“Ok. I’m Rachael.”

Then he told me he is Mr. Eli. And kept repeating “you are welcome.” He was yet to recover fully from the shock, I guess.

He gave me his card and said I can always phone him anytime.

Mr and Mrs Terfa and their daughters used to live in a neighborhood very close to the Petroleum Training Institute, Warri. Her husband, a businessman, traveled often. So, she felt it was better and safer her twin girls schooled very close to home.

So, one day in the month of July 2010, she went school-hunting for the girls who were about clocking age five. And she found a very beautiful one close by. But, exactly what befell me with Mr. Eli happened to her. Although my experience with Mr. Eli happened at Warri in Delta state, I reserved it for this phase of the story because of Mrs. Terfa’s experience. And they both occurred in the same state.

“Why did you inform the school?” I asked with my eyes searching her face and eyes for more.

“Because I felt it was the right thing to do. They used to experience so much discomfort after taking their drugs. I was afraid they wouldn’t be at school during hospital visits and their teacher will notice all these. So, I decided to open up.”

Mrs. Terfa narrated how the school proprietor shouted ‘J-E-S-U-S!’ Then told her he couldn’t admit the girls anymore for it was risky for the school.

“So, what did you do?” I asked, with fatigue suddenly taking over my body.

“I went home and cried.”

“Why?” I had slid my right hand into my bag which was on the floor by my side, brought out one of the tough-balls and applied much pressure while holding it jealously. A coping mechanism to keep me grounded.

“The proprietor looked at me in this demeaning way. He judged me. His face and eyes accused me of being sexually irresponsible. It was all over him. He blamed me.”

She was still visibly shaken eight years later.

I stood up, walked across to her side of the living room and paused my recorder that was on the center table. Then handed her some tissue paper. I bought a dozen of them while packing my bags for the trip. From personal experiences of traveling to difficult pasts during (medical) sessions, I knew the tissue papers would be very important during all interviews with persons living with the virus.

While blowing her nose and wiping tears from her eyes, I poured some drinking water but added much quantity of the glucose I came with into it. I was doing exactly what one of my caregivers did during those emotional sessions back in the United States. I handed her the water. “She would be needing so much energy to go through this,” I told myself silently.

…

HIV: BENUE STATE, NIGERIA AND THE WORLD

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) says Benue is one of the six leading states in Nigeria which account for 41 percent of people living with HIV in the country. These states include: Kaduna, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Lagos, Oyo, and Kano. HIV prevalence is highest in the South-South with 5.5 percent and lowest in the South-East with a prevalence of 1.8 percent. Rural areas have higher prevalence rates with four percent, while urban strive with three percent prevalence rate.

The National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) and UNAIDS in a joint 2017 Spectrum Estimates indicates Benue state as one of the priority states in the fast tracking HIV treatment and PMTCT programs in Nigeria.

With a 5.65 percent prevalence rate, no fewer than 176,725 persons from 15 years above are HIV positive. Of these, 59.05 percent are covered by the ART scheme. The duo health bodies in the survey state no fewer than10,144 kids between the ages of zero to 14 years are living with the virus in the state, while 91.66 percent of them are on ART coverage. Unfortunately, no fewer than 7,757 persons in Benue freshly contracted the virus last year, while not less than 10,640 mothers are in need of Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission (PMTCT) care.

 

The UNAIDS says around 2.6 million children have been orphaned by AIDS. This, the global health body says can impact the kids’ health, safety and wellbeing negatively. Statistics from the organization indicate 20 percent of orphans and vulnerable children are frequently absent from school, while about 18 percent of them have been sexually abused.
In Nigeria, HIV continues to impact negatively on kids as they often become caregivers at such tender ages to parents living with the virus. Girls, researches and surveys so far, indicate are the affected ones. Thus, possibly one of the reasons why there are more boys in classrooms in many parts of the country.
Reports from a 2017 National Health Survey showed that 15 percent of girls and four percent of boys in Nigeria have sex before they are 15 years old. Another survey carried out in 2017 discovered 41.2 percent of females between ages 15 and 24 had had a sexual partner 10 or more years older than them in the previous year. Hence, inter-generational sexual relationships being very common. In the National Health Survey, it is stated that “this increases HIV risk among this group, as often, the virus is passed from older men to young girls.”

…

Mimidoo and Mivaaga were born with the virus but never knew about it until a neighbor mocked them with it when they were 11. They almost discovered in 2010 when their friend ended the friendship on the instruction of her mum. But never did because they moved to Abuja.

The Federal Capital Territory was a fun place to live until 2015 when their peers started avoiding them. “We felt like no one wanted us but didn’t know why,” Mimidoo spoke for her twin sister as well.

They started staying indoors playing alone. At school, they had lost interest in everything and were scared to mingle with the other kids. “We knew others were avoiding us but no one told us why,” Mivaaga added.

They have never really known their relatives. “We only hear about and see them in pictures on Facebook and Instagram,” Mivaaga continued. The only family member they had known was their maternal grandma, who unfortunately died in 2011.

“My husband’s family still blame me for his death. He took ill in 2015 and never recovered.”

“Why are you being blamed for his death?”

“They claim my husband contracted the virus from me.”

I sighed deeply. Still looking at her.

She continued “He didn’t contract it from me.”

“He infected you?”

“Yes.”

“How do you know?”

“We got married in 2001 but I was unable to conceive. There was nothing wrong with us medically. But his family kept harassing me. Then, they threw my things out in 2003. He immediately married another wife, but she left him for a richer man in 2004. So, he came back to beg me. Two months before I returned to him, I donated blood for my sister. I was tested for HIV before donating. I was negative. My (immediate) family didn’t want me to return to him. But the shame was too much.”

 

“What shame?”

“People mocked me that I couldn’t keep a man.”

“Who are the people?”

“Cousins, friends, aunties, uncles, neighbours, in short everywhere I went, they called me names.”

“But it wasn’t your fault,” I was already numb and very sad.

“I was too ashamed to face the society as a divorcee. So, I went back against their (my family) will. I conceived the second month of my returning to him.”

“Did you register for antenatal?”

“Yes.”

“How come your status was not discovered during antenatal visits?”

“Our family doctor managing me at the time said I must have contracted it during pregnancy. I was negative during my first trimester. Since I got married, no man except my husband has seen me naked. Even after his death.”

“So, why is everyone staying away from you and the kids?”

“My family members are angry I didn’t listen to them not to return to him. They said the family must never be known for HIV so I should bear my shame alone. His family claims I killed him. They say my daughters and I are useless. They say we have a killer disease, so are not part of their family.”

“So, why did you leave Abuja?”

“After their father’s death, his family practically fought me for our properties. The whole neighborhood got to know through them that my husband died of AIDS related complications. The news spread to my kids’ school. Everyone avoided them until a neighbor’s daughter mocked them openly.”

“How?”

“She called them walking bomb. She jeered at them during an argument. That is how they got to know about their status. I couldn’t bear it anymore, so left Abuja for Makurdi.”

“Do people here know (their status)?”

“No. It’s our secret.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“And, how do you ensure it never leaks?”

“I am working on us relocating. Hopefully by December, we should be out of Nigeria for good.”

“Really!? December this year?”

“Yes, December this year.”

…

Investigations so far reveal people’s negative attitude towards persons living with HIV is not only born out of stark ignorance about the virus but contributes to why there is so much secrecy about living with it. Ironically, persons who stigmatize and discriminate against those with HIV don’t want to be served the same food they dish out. This I discovered in interviews conducted in all states I have been to http://bit.ly/2MFdOBh ,  http://bit.ly/2MBQkNk, http://bit.ly/2LDXJGw, http://bit.ly/2PQ9NYI

Unfortunately, more interviews conducted revealed such parents and families are many across the country. For instance, Mr Anosisi Ibe, a trader, believes that disclosing his child’s HIV status to the school will lead to the termination of his studies by the authorities. He asked if HIV is curable. I told him it is not curable but is manageable.

“Manageable?” he repeated as if trying to make sense of the word. Then continued “how?”

I tell him there are medications to be taken, hence, will lead to a healthy life and HIV is not a death sentence. Mr. Ibe marveled at the ‘revelation’ I made. A friend of his who was close by interjected “you can take it and the thing will go out of you.” I didn’t know if that was a question or statement.

I told them when persons taking the medications- antiretrovirals, do so regularly, their viral load become undetectable, and they cannot infect others anymore.

So, I asked if he would still inform the school if his child tests positive? “No. No.” he answered. His friend rather suggests the government should create a place where kids living with HIV be kept. Mr. Ibe agreed with the friend. He believes that HIV should not be spread but kept a secret until the person living with the virus is okay.

He said I should simply call him Mr. T. He wouldn’t disclose what he does for a living. But said if his child tests positive to the virus, he wouldn’t disclose it to the school because he will be discriminated against. He rather thinks special schools be created by the government for persons living with the virus “until they get alright.”

However, he believes that any godly person living with HIV wouldn’t spread the virus but keep it within him or herself until he or she is cured.

Mrs Patience Omo, a trader, kept quiet for sometime before answering the question; what she will do if her child’s classmate were HIV positive. When she recovered her voice, she said she will educate her child not to play with sharp objects. Then I turned the table around. If her daughter were HIV positive, would she disclose it to the school authorities while seeking admission?

“For the child not to feel bad, I won’t say it,” she answered after recovering her voice again.

(MRS OMO PIC)

I asked why.

“Maybe because of that they may not take her. And they will not allow others go close to her.”

But she will ensure the child is taking her medication.

If already in school and her daughter is diagnosed HIV positive, Mrs. Omo will not let the school have an inkling about it for fear of stigmatization. Everyone, she said, will mind the way they play with her and “she will look different.” She fears schools which are already in the habit of discriminating against kids with other conditions will look down on her daughter.

Mrs. Stella Momoh, a food vendor, said she will go to the school to inquire what the school will do about it. According to her, children sharpen their pencils with razorblades and this is very dangerous. The food vendor went on to say “if the owner of the school is in his right senses, he should take away that child from that class, so that other children will not contact the disease.”

I asked doesn’t she think the child has a right to education? She agreed but argued about kids being kids “without self control”. She suggested such kids have their own school. I asked if she doesn’t feel that is stigmatization? She doesn’t think so. “I am preventing my own (child from contracting the virus),” she added.

But when I turned the table around- if her child were the one living with HIV, she interjected “God forbid! I cannot answer such question.” I explained that is why I included God forbid and said for instance. She maintained “Those are not my portion. That is not my portion. So, I can’t answer such.”

Mrs. Rose Edwards, a grandmother, said if her grandchild who is not yet in school were diagnosed HIV positive, she will first take her to church because the school cannot help her. Rather, the school authorities will tell her to go get the child treated. From church, she will then take her to the hospital to be treated. She believes there is no way the school authorities wouldn’t notice a child is living with the virus.

She said if the child is already in school, she will first get a cure for the HIV before allowing her go back to school.

SPECIAL SCHOOLS MUST NEVER BE CREATED FOR HIV POSITIVE KIDS!

Mr. Steve Aborisade, Advocacy and Marketing Manager, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), opines that most people who are HIV positive in the country will rather keep it to themselves because of the stigma.

He said parents who suggested in interviews that special schools be created for kids living with HIV “are saying that out of ignorance.” He continued “Because you are HIV positive, why will you need to be in a special class?”

Mr. Aborisade said when persons living with the virus are on treatment, the viral load become undetectable as it reduces significantly.

…

HIV BURDEN: FCT, ABUJA AND THE WORLD

The FCT, Abuja tops fifth with a 7.5 percent prevalence rate of persons living with HIV. This is according to NACA in her ‘Nigeria Prevalence Rate.’ However, in a 2017 NACA/UNAIDS joint spectrum estimates, the country’s capital territory has the lowest disease burden among all geopolitical zones with a 3.2 percent rating.
Other zones’ disease burden ratings include: South East- 9.5 percent; North East- 13.3 percent; North Central- 15.8 percent; North West- 16.5 percent; South West- 20.8 percent and South South with the highest rate at 20.9 percent.
The FCT, according to the spectrum estimates, is one of the priority states under the fast tracking HIV treatment and PMTCT programs in the country.
The UNAIDS reports that no fewer than 240,000 adolescents between the ages of 10-19 years were living with HIV in 2016. These, that year, made up seven percent of the total number of persons with the virus in Nigeria. HIV prevalence among this age group, the global health body says varies regionally, with 4.3 percent of 15-19 years old living with HIV in the South South, compared to 1.3 percent in the South East.

Unfortunately, the UNAIDS reports health outcomes for adolescents living with HIV in Nigeria are poor, while Nigeria is the only country globally where mortality in zero to 14 year olds is on the increase.

The UNAIDS’ 2017 report indicates no fewer 270,000 children between ages 0-14 years are living with HIV in Nigeria. The global health body says 24,000 children between 0-14 years of age died as a result of AIDS in 2016, while only 21 percent of the country’s kids living with the virus are on antiretroviral. However, 13,097 kids between ages 0-14 years newly started the ART recently. Unfortunately, only 74 children are known to be on ART 12 months after starting.

Despite their elevated risk, the global health organization’s report indicates that few adolescents in Nigeria test for HIV regularly. For instance, in 2017, according to the UNAIDS, only two percent of males between 15-19 years and four percent of females tested for HIV that year.

Surveys carried out through distribution of questionnaires in all seven states investigated in this series reveal all teacher-respondents have not received any form of formal training (within and outside their schools) on how to care for students living with HIV. Majority indicated their knowledge of HIV was and is still acquired from what they hear around them.

Over half of the teacher-respondents to my research questions say they will ensure there are no sharp objects in the classroom made up of HIV positive and negative kids. They also indicated would not the children (HIV positive and negative) have much contacts with themselves. Among other research findings, over half of the teacher-respondents indicated they will separate the food and spoons of HIV positive students from those without the virus.

All participants in the survey were assured utmost confidentiality. Thus, their names were not requested anywhere in the psychometric properties (questionnaires) filled.

The full research findings on ‘Schools’ knowledge And Preparedness In Managing HIV Positive Students’ carried out in Lagos, Ogun, Delta, Imo, Edo, FCT Abuja, and Benue states would be published in the followup update to this series.

Meanwhile, school headmasters/headmistresses and principals who participated in this survey have almost same experiences and thoughts as the teachers. None of them have organized any form of formal training for members of staff on how to care for students living with HIV. Neither do they have a written policy on the management of kids and staff members who are HIV positive.

Many, in their responses were honest to indicate they wouldn’t know how to manage known students living with the virus. Some indicated they wouldn’t admit such students into the school, and wouldn’t allow them remain in the school if already students. Some others indicated they would seek another staff member’s suggestion on how to handle the situation. The latter was the case at Government Secondary School, Karu, Abuja.

“THE PRINCIPAL WOULD HAVE REJECTED YOUR HIV POSITIVE CHILD HAD I NOT SPOKEN IGBO TO HER!”

Honestly, I had started asking myself why my supposed kids were rejected at most schools I went to. “Is there something I am doing wrong? Or, is it how I make the disclosure? Or, is it because I am a woman?” I queried myself.

So, I decided to try someone neutral. I got a guy. Tall, huge and good-looking. I call him Fine Man.

I didn’t tell Fine Man it’s a story. I told him I wanted to transfer my kids’ school but couldn’t get to Government Secondary School, Karu, Abuja by myself. I told him all the questions I wanted answered during the inquiry.

“But please, record all the discussions,” I had added.

“Why?” He had asked.

“So that I can have a feeling of the persons who will be caring for my kids. Remember, I told you one of them is HIV positive?”

“Yes.”

“From their voices I can tell if my kids will be safe with them or not.”

“Oh. Ok.” Fine Man agreed.

…

Fine Man had been directed around and even given a list. No, told to snap a list with his phone’s camera. The clerk who appeared to be more knowledgable on the job than the principal, had debated with the latter, the admission process for Fine Man’s kids. I don’t know why they thought the kids were his. While the principal told him to go to ERC, madam clerk said he was to purchase some scratch cards.

“ERC is for those already schooling within the FCT. And the child is coming from outside,” madam clerk had argued further.

Indeed, my supposed kids were relocating from Ilorin to the FCT.

The principal left her to handle that.

Then, Fine Man walked up to the principal for another talk. He explained there was something that needed to be sorted, as well.

The principal’s attention was his. He said it had to do with the child’s health. The principal sounded concerned. He went straight to the point.

“The child is HIV positive, hope it wouldn’t matter…” Fine Man said calmly.

“Ehn!?” The principal’s eyes were wide open, he later told me.

“The child is HIV positive…,” he repeated.

“I don’t know anything about that o. May be, let me ask.” The principal was naive about HIV and its management.

So, she turned to her clerk. They said somethings in Igbo.” Then, she returned to Fine Man.

“Ok. The child doesn’t need to tell anybody that she has that problem. But we the school, I think we should be able to know that this is the child’s problem, because in the process of admission, they do medical fitness exam. So, it should be stated there (in her form) so that we would note it, in order not to engage the child in highly difficult manual labour or whatever. That is the only way we can come in.”

She went on to say “the child will do thorough medical exam. Well, I don’t think that is an issue because it’s a personal issue. ”

She began commenting about the political program on the TV.

Then Fine Man took his exit.

On his way out, the clerk walked up to him for feedback.

“What did she tell you about the child’s case?”

“That she will do the medical checks but that I will let the school know about the issue.”

“When you mentioned it, she wanted to object. I now used (Igbo) language and told her, you know, she just entered newly. I told her the child can come, but the school authority should be able to know the child’s case; so that if there is any crisis, they will be able to know what to do at that particular time. And that is why your phone number is very important. So that if there is anything, you should be contacted.”

…

As I journeyed around, asking Nigerians questions on HIV, results of parts of the 2017 National Health Survey kept surfacing. Statistics from the survey indicate only 29 percent of females and 27.9 percent of males between the ages 15 to 24 could correctly identify ways of preventing transmission of HIV, and reject myths around transmission.

Such is the case with Tunmise James, a 19 year old who is acquiring skills to become a hairstylist at a saloon. I had asked her what she would do should any of her friends test positive to HIV.

Her response?

“I will not eat with a friend who is HIV positive. I will not speak with her because she has HIV.”

These are her preventive measures because she fears contracting the virus when she speaks and eats with a friend living with the virus.

But if she were the one living with HIV, she wouldn’t let anyone know about it while seeking admission into a school. She thinks she would be denied admission because of her status.

Feyitayo Shodeoluwa, a student, says she will tell her younger sister not to use sharp objects in school should any of her classmates test positive to the virus. She doesn’t stop there. “I will tell her to move a little bit away from her, so she should not really play with her very well like that.”

I asked what she meant by ‘move a little bit away from her.’

“So that she will not be able to contract the HIV. You know, kids they play a lot and they can injure themselves when they are playing. In that process, she might contract the HIV.”

Feyitayo wouldn’t allow her sister share spoons with a fellow child living with the virus. She fears her sibling may contract the virus when she shares a spoon used by the child who is HIV positive.

“HIV POSITIVE CHILDREN POSE NO RISK IN SCHOOLS”

Ms. Magda Conway, Consultant and Service Development Specialist, Children’s HIV Association, (CHIVA), United Kingdom, in the publication titled ‘HIV in schools: A summary of the good practice guide to supporting children living with and affected by HIV, emphasizes the need for schools’ management to ensure all members of staff have up-to-date knowledge about HIV; routes of transmission; and firmly establish the need for confidentiality.

According to Ms. Conway, if a child discloses his or her HIV status in school, he or she should be assured of confidentiality by the school authority. “Agree who will inform the parent that this information has been shared,” Ms. Conway advises.

The specialist who works extensively on HIV in children and adolescents states further that:

A child living with HIV in a school:

* Poses no risk
* Presents no additional insurance issues
* Requires no additional resources

In the publication, she stressed that “What they do face is a high level of stigma, the impact that this stigma can have on their wellbeing, and the additional complications that managing a long-term health condition may present to a family.”

According to CHIVA, HIV is a ‘non-notifiable disease’ because all persons living with it, including pupils and staff in schools cannot transmit the virus during daily contacts.

Ms. Conway says “Schools want to be places where all children are safe and able to equally access education. They are places where children’s attitudes and understanding of the world are developed; therefore schools should model an educated and calm response to HIV, as they would with any other health condition.”

KEY FACTS

* HIV CANNOT be passed on through normal daily contact, which includes playing and normal childhood interactions.

* Vast majority of HIV positive pupils acquired HIV from their mothers during pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding.

* A pupil (or teacher) living with HIV poses no risk to the school community

* There has NEVER been a case identified of a child passing HIV to another child, teacher or member of the school community within a school.

* People living with HIV are able to live long, healthy lives

* Confidentiality is critical to people living with HIV due to stigma that is still present in the society

SOURCE: Children’S HIV Association (CHIVA) United Kingdom

“HIV POSITIVE KIDS ARE MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY”

Dr. Bolanle Ola, Consultant Psychiatrist and Head of Psychiatry, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) said schools’ rejection of students on account of their HIV status are discriminatory acts and these are not supported by the law.

He called on the government to enforce the anti-discrimination laws in the country because persons living with HIV are also members of the society and are entitled to all rights like other members of the society.

He stressed that every child living with HIV is entitled to education; being a fundamental human right. “They need to have access to education, health, recreational facilities and reasonable accommodation,” Dr. Ola added.

He urged persons living with the virus to work with organizations and agencies like Office of the Public Defender (OPD) that will enforce their rights.

Dr. Ola emphasized kids living with the virus are part of the society and special schools for them must not be created because it is stigmatizing and a breach of their human right.

NO PUBLIC HEALTH VALUE KEEPING HIV POSITIVE KIDS FROM LEARNING

Dr. Erasmus Morah, UNAIDS Country Director in Nigeria, says denying children living with HIV education on account of their status would be outrageous.

Addressing the instances of Ogun state owned schools not accepting kids living with HIV due to alleged directives from the state’s education ministry, Dr. Morah said “Such would be an outrageous policy. Completely outrageous.

“And I don’t think any government of Nigeria be it state, federal or even local government should have such a policy. I don’t believe they have such a policy. If they do, it’s tragic, and it should immediately get to the attention of those who are concerned and change it.

“It shouldn’t be. It’s not consistent with the global practice, and to my knowledge of the Nigerian policy on HIV, it’s also not consistent with it. There is absolutely no public health value to keeping children who are HIV positive from learning. Absolutely none! Zero!”

 

Editor’s Note: Mrs. Betty Terfa, Mimidoo and Mivaaga are not the real names of the family living with HIV interviewed in this story. They were changed for their privacy. Images of the girls or other identifiers such as voice notes and videos, of the family, are not used to protect them from being recognized and stigmatized.

This story was produced with support from Code For Africa through her Naija Data Ladies Fellowship Programme.

…HIV positive kids can do everything other children do! – Delta Govt

 

Nigeria’s HIV epidemic affects all population groups and geographic areas of the country. Consequently, February 2015, the Federal Government signed into law the HIV/AIDS anti-discrimination bill to protect the rights and dignity of people living with HIV. Thus, making it illegal to discriminate against people based on their HIV status.

In this fourth edition of the diary-like five-part investigative series on HIV across seven states in Nigeria- Ogun, Lagos, Delta, Imo, Benue and the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, TOBORE OVUORIE, reveals many parents in Delta and Imo states respectively, are still ignorant about HIV. Thus, stigmatizing and discriminating against children living with the virus. These children are not only overlooked when populations disproportionately impacted by the epidemic are assessed, they are also denied their human rights to educational opportunities.

THE STORY SO FAR

The journey to Lagos state which birthed the first part of this series was an eyeopener for me garnished with a potpourri of extra findings and emotions.

I will write about the extra findings in a followup publication to this series.

Ogun state- the schools and parents, which unveiled the second part of this race left me with a mixture of goose pimples and pounding headache. My pen wasn’t missing but my muse abandoned me. While it was on holiday, I shuttled the hospital hunting for a cure to the pounding headache which caressed my head.

“You are reacting to unpleasant experiences,” my doctor told me. Sadly, I couldn’t share the trauma with him. Only my editor has such pre-publication right. He gave me some medications. “These at least, will help you sleep and relax,” he told me with a so-you-don’t-wanna-tell-me-what-is-eating-you expression.

A combination of my Lagos and Ogun state experiences have created a hollow, numbness, and pains in me. These experiences, like the Sahara desert’s heat, have sucked my words. Reason I can’t explain exactly how I feel.

But I kind of got my groove back with Edo state. I laugh alone night-after-night, while playing back unused interview tapes. “My people no dey carry last!” I exclaim often; most time, about 2am. Parents’ responses reeked of discrimination and stigmatization, yet had this hilarious bend. I have many unused interviews from Edo, (Lagos and Ogun states as well), but I play them almost every night so I can laugh and be able to write.

The story’s journey so far, has re-birthed me. I have gotten used to being told and snubbed with varieties of no! It doesn’t mean anything to me anymore. I doubt if I would give a damn should someone from any of the places I have been to recognize me and tell whoever that my supposed kids and I are HIV positive.

But to be honest, writing this fourth part of the series has been tedious for me.

“I feel like my head is filled with air,” I remember telling Mr. Muyiwa Lucas, one of this paper’s line editors. We were just about leaving the newsroom Friday August 24th. It was 10:05pm, my wristwatch told me.

“You need to sleep, eat and rest. It’s a sign of fatigue,” he had advised.

“I will,” I promised. But added a caveat. “After the whole series have been delivered, I will pamper myself to a day’s sleep and rest before hitting the road for the next stage of the developing story.”

“You’re too stubborn!” Mr. Lucas picked his bag and walked away.

I keep talking to myself, asking, “if I were living with HIV, is this what I would be facing?” I am holding onto the light with my hands and using my legs to kick the darkness my Lagos, Ogun and Edo states experiences have ushered in.

I don’t know which is better: the Lagos and Ogun state schools where I was outrightly told no without pretense and diplomacy or the Delta and Imo state schools where I was also told no, with so much smiles but well accompanied with caveats?

DO NOT BRING YOUR HIV CHILD TO THE SCHOOL UNTIL THE HIV TREATMENT IS COMPLETED!

Her voice was cool. And accent on point. I wished my friends who always mocked me that those of us from Warri can never speak good English no matter how well travelled, were there. I would have told them “Edulyn Schools is in Warri Delta state! Come and listen to correct English straight from Warri!”

The discussion kicked off well with the school administrator telling me all teachers will be on ground first week of September. Learners, like my supposed daughter, would be welcomed second week of September, while the entry form is N3,000 only.

Possibly, I should have allowed the conversation linger some more. Truth is, I never expected what followed. I had gone on to tell her my husband wanted me to confirm if our daughter’s health status wouldn’t be an issue. “The child is HIV positive,” I had calmly announced.

There was silence. It seemed like eternity to me. Then, she hummed. And hummed. A double “Y-e-a-h” followed. Then, she continued with so much finality like she had earlier rehearsed for it. “For now, we may not have to admit her anymore. And thank you for informing us. I think the treatment has to take place. Has she started the treatment?”

“Yes, she has started.” Again, like while in Lagos and Ogun states, something in me died.

“When the treatment is completed, I think we may have to admit. But for now, I wouldn’t say we are going to admit.”

I was confused. “HIV treatment completed? Is it ever completed?” I asked myself in a flash of seconds.

“Because we don’t have the facilities to check it. We don’t,” she added.

I became confused the more. “Facilities to check HIV in a school? What facilities?” I asked myself again. Make she kuku say dem nor want HIV pikin instead of all dis kakara talks, I was speaking to myself in Warri pidgin. She should simply say a child living with the virus is not wanted in their school, rather than dancing around a cycle, I said to myself.

I tried to push further. “I will call subsequently when the session has begun, maybe you may want to have a review of her.”

It didn’t work.

She added a caveat. “But please, let the treatment be completed before you bring her to the school. We will appreciate it.”

The excited me died.

SCHOOLS IN DELTA STATE DON’T NEED FACILITIES TO MANAGE HIV POSITIVE STUDENTS

This is supposed to be just a story. So, I don’t understand why I was so pained. Actually, I still am. So, much more later; before publication, I put a call through to Dr. John Osuyali, Executive Secretary, Delta State Agency for the Control of AIDS (Delta SACA) to confirm if schools need any or certain facilities before kids living with HIV can be admitted.

He giggled. I heard it clearly. Then replied.

“I am not aware of that.”

I went further to briefly share my experience with him. And asked again if schools need certain facilities before students living with the virus can be admitted?

“Not in Delta.” He answered.

HIV TREATMENT IS NEVER COMPLETED!

As I write this report, I still don’t understand why the response from the Edulyn school’s administrator ruffled me. It sure did. Reason when I spoke with the Delta SACA helmsman, I reeled on “Please sir, I equally want to find out, in children, can HIV treatment be completed?”

He didn’t giggle this time.

In his usual very calm manner, he replied “We don’t treat HIV half way.”

Oh. If the Edulyn school administrator actually knew HIV is never treated half way, then she was only garnishing the no she told me with some chocolates! I imagined again with my eyes fixed on the wall clock in my living room.

SORRY! OUR BOARDING FACILITIES NOT FOR HIV POSITIVE KIDS

PEARLVILLE SCHOOL, OWERRI

22nd, August 2018,

7.25pm

Dr. Nneka, a Business Developer with Pearlville School, Owerri, smiles often. And has so much warmth and positive vibes emanating from her. She phoned me night of the last day of Sallah. It was a working holiday for me. One of the downside of journalism.

The online editor of the paper, Mr. Lekan Otunfodunrin was planning how the series would be published when Dr. Nneka’s call jumped in. I answered the call but placed it on speaker, while a colleague recorded. She told me how she had been trying to track my phone number all the while, the reason she was phoning that late.

“Anything goes, provided I get my story,” I told myself smiling.

When I made the admission inquiry (earlier), I had disclosed the supposed child’s status. And she had promised to phone me after speaking with the school’s doctor.

Though later. But she did.

“When I called the doctor, then, I had to call the management for a quick meeting and we were like there is no problem with that (admitting a child living with the virus). But when the doctor now called back, she said actually, there is no issue with that but only that the school is a boarding school. If we have a day school, because they are only four in a room, that wouldn’t have been a problem. The problem is not us. The problem is that it’s a boarding school. She (the school’s doctor) advises that the child attends a day school. For now, we are not running a day school yet. That is the issue now.”

Honestly, I was confused. “Why can’t a child living with HIV be in the dormitory?” I have been asking myself. I still am.

HIV POSITIVE KIDS CAN DO EVERYTHING AND ATTEND BOARDING SCHOOLS!

Indeed, I was worried after being told my supposed daughter should be a day-student, as she cannot be in the dormitory. I turned to Dr. Osuyali.

“Children living with HIV, can they attend secondary schools with just boarding facilities. That is, can they be boarders in secondary school?”

In his usual very calm manner, he answered “There is no discrimination in Delta state to the best of my knowledge. Please, let me know if there is anyone you have identified. And if they have, well, if you bring it to our notice, we will look it up.”

“So, you are saying in essence that children can attend boarding schools even though they are living with HIV?”

“Everything. They are totally covered to do everything other children do,” he said with 100 percent finality.

Mr. Steve Aborisade, Advocacy and Marketing Manager, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), was dismayed when I sought a second opinion from him if kids living with the virus are not supposed to be in boarding schools.

“Why are we zeroing in on HIV? That is the question?” he began with much emotions. “There are so many other conditions that are there. Why HIV? So, why do people think children living with HIV cannot stay in a boarding house?” he continued.

I could hear the thundering echo of wherever he was. And his voice kept rebirthing it. “There are acts of discrimination. There are acts of stigmatization fueled by ignorance anywhere, everyday. It happens. It’s happening,” he added.

He said there are so many acts of discrimination even within families. According to Mr. Aborisade, there are families that send their kids (who test positive to HIV) out of the house. He also disclosed there are families that abandon their children. “Just because they don’t understand the issue. It is ignorance.”

He said the discrimination is as a result of the fact that people lack knowledge about the issue. And blamed the media for the populace’s ignorance, saying the public depends on the media to define their reality.

Schools like Ray Jacob Boarding School, Mgbidi and Alvana Model School, Owerri, both in Imo state, didn’t stab any part of me. They are expecting my supposed daughter living with HIV when their new academic calendar begins September 10th. I saw and felt their sincerity of wanting her.

Every other schools visited in Delta and Imo states respectively, buried a part of me. There are over 10 of them. For now, I wouldn’t list their names. I am hoping before I write the followup to this series, they would have honored their words to phone me like they promised. I have been phoning them since the initial contact. Some do take my calls telling me they will still get back to me. Others don’t. But when I use another phone number in calling, they all do take my calls but immediately tell me they will be in touch soon.

***

Out of over five million persons in Delta state, 78,359 person, according to the state’s governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, are living with HIV. The National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) says the state has a prevalence rate of 0.7 percent. At the moment, 8,257 are eligible for treatment in the state, while 28,000 are currently accessing the life-saving Anti-Retroviral Drugs (ARV).

NACA and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) in a 2017 Spectrum Estimates indicate no fewer than 2,634 kids between the ages of zero to 14 years are living with HIV in the state. Of these, 57.55 percent are covered by the Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) scheme.

The NACA/UNAIDS survey further reveals no fewer than 30,900 persons from 15 years and above have the virus in them within the state. Of these, 69.22 percent are covered by the ART care.

The survey also states no fewer than 1,220 persons in the state have freshly contracted the virus, while no fewer than 2, 772 mothers are in need of prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) care.

The Dr. Okowa, December 2017, had called for increased advocacy on HIV/AIDS to eradicate stigmatisation and discrimination in the country.

“I enjoin all stakeholders to re-double their efforts at educating our people on the HIV/AIDS pandemic, as well as to take proactive steps at eradicating stigma and discrimination among the citizenry.

“It is a known fact that many people are generally aware of HIV/AIDS, but correct knowledge on how to prevent the infection is rather limited, due mainly to unfounded myths and outright denial of the reality of HIV/AIDS,” he had said during last year’s World AIDS Day.

Indeed, interviews with many parents and kids in secondary schools in the state confirmed Dr. Okowa’s assertions.

“NO SCHOOL FOR OUR CHILDREN WHO TEST POSITIVE TO HIV!”

Mr. Gentle is an automobile repairer at Jakpa, in Warri, Delta state. He said it is none of his business if his younger brother’s classmate is HIV positive because he or she may have contracted the virus after absconding from school to partake in “illegal sexual matters.”

It doesn’t end there. Should his younger brother test positive to HIV, he says he wouldn’t give a damn. But he fears contracting the virus from him.

However, he wouldn’t allow his sibling be friends with anyone who is HIV positive. But if it were his sibling living with the virus, he wouldn’t disclose it to the school for fear of discrimination.

But he later changed his mind. He will inform the school about the brother’s HIV status only after he has been withdrawn from school. That way, according to him, the school can check other students if anyone has contracted the virus from him.

Mr. Gentle believes withdrawing his brother from school is the only way to prevent spread of the virus in the school community.

“People living with HIV do not live long,” he said. He doesn’t know there is a medication- antiretroviral, for HIV. Though he has been seeing it on TV, he doesn’t know it is real.

Many parents interviewed, not only in Delta state, feel ending a child’s education is the way to go in curbing the spread of HIV. Mary, a trader at the Sapele part of the state, joined other parents in saying she will withdraw her child from school should the classmate test positive to HIV. She fears her child will contract the virus because children play with anything, sharp objects inclusive.

But if her own child were to test positive to the virus, while seeking admission, she wouldn’t disclose his status to the school authorities “because they will not admit him.”

She talked about her brother too. If he were already in school when his status is discovered, she wouldn’t disclose it to the school authorities. She would rather withdraw him from school. She fears he will play with sharp objects, thus endangering the lives of others by spreading the virus.

“I will tell my child not to eat with his classmate who tests positive to HIV,” said Mr. Lucky, an automobile repairer in Ughelli, Delta state. I told him the virus cannot be contacted through eating together. And he asked me why. “It requires exchange of blood for transmission to occur,” I told him.

He didn’t believe me.

He went on to tell me the virus will spread if someone who is HIV positive uses his teeth in tearing a piece of meat for an HIV negative person to eat. He is not against his child playing with a kid living with the virus but wouldn’t allow them eat together.

When I asked if he would inform the school authorities should his child test positive to the virus, he retorted “how will you say my child has HIV!?. My child cannot have HIV.” I calmed him down that that is why I had included ‘God forbid’ in the question.

He let it slide.

But Mr. Lucky believes HIV cannot be hidden as it is visible on anyone living with the virus. I told him it is never written on the forehead. He admits being aware of that fact but still insists “It cannot be hidden. It will still show. People will still know.”

TRANSMISSION OF HIV THROUGH TEETH-MEAT SHARING? IT DEPENDS…

Mr. Lucky is not the only parent who has fears that kids without the virus could contract it from those with it while sharing chewed meat or that shared with the teeth (by the infected person). I contacted Dr. Angela Uwakem, Commissioner for health, Imo state.

“You know how HIV is transmitted. First of all, there has to be some fluid exchange. So, it is not as simple as that. It depends on the fluid. If there is fluid in the mouth; saliva. That is why we talk about kissing.

“So, it depends on what is the fluid content. If the membranes are intact; there is no blood exchange, there will be no problem. But if saliva becomes exchanged, there is a risk. So, it depends,” she explained while on a journey by road from Enugu to Imo state.

Mama Glory, as she is called by everyone, is a trader who often has many children flock around her shop where she sells different household items. Though she loves children and feels comfortable having them around, but it comes with a condition: they must never test positive to the virus. Should it turn out the other way, and such a child is classmate to hers, she will withdraw her own child from the school. Mama Glory is afraid her daughter may contract the virus because “HIV is a disease.”

I listened to her bare her mind. She believes HIV can be cured. Asked if her daughter were HIV positive, would she inform the school while seeking admission? She said “I will first get her treated before taking her to school. I must be certain she is healed before I get her into a school.”

She would do this in order to prevent the spread of the virus in the school community. Mama Glory is driven by the belief: Do unto others as you want it done unto you.

Mr. James, a business man, will also not inform the school should his child test positive to the virus. “No need of telling the school. How can I tell the school? I will do it (take care of her) on my own,” he said.

He fears that telling the school will lead to either her expulsion or people rejecting her.

I pushed our talks further by asking if he will allow his daughter marry a man who is HIV positive. He retorted “is HIV a good thing!?” He wouldn’t allow her because “there is nothing good in HIV.”

Pa. Raphael Obamwonyi, though elderly still works. He is a businessman and father of many children. He has them old and very young. He showed me his very young set of twin. And like other parents I had asked what they would do should their child’s classmate tests positive to the virus, he felt the classmate must be a girl.

“I will tell him not to go close to the girl,” he said. Unlike many parents interviewed, he will not withdraw his son from the school.

Should his son test positive to HIV, Pa Obamwonyi thinks not disclosing the status to the school authorities is a sin. “As an elder in the church, I don’t need to hide sickness since it is unfortunate that the child is sick, but for it not to spread, I will tell the teacher.” He said possibly the school authorities may have some useful advice for him.

Then, I pressed the wrong button.

I asked if he will support his son if his fiancee were living with the virus?

Pa Obamwonyi went hysterical.

“Haaaa…! Noor! Why are you talking like this?” He gesticulates with hands flying in the air. Though an elder in church, Pa Obamwonyi said he will first gift his son a thundering slap for daring to want to marry a lady who is HIV positive. He told me it is an impossible mission

“You mean if a child tells the father he wants to commit suicide (via marrying someone with the virus), won’t you first kill that child yourself than he dying by himself? That is death!” he retorted.

He doesn’t believe someone without the virus can be married to a person living with HIV and yet not get infected.

“No father will tell such a child to carry on knowing fully well his child isn’t living with the virus…I will punch his mouth to remove his teeth so that the HIV positive lady won’t marry him anymore.”

He was still hysterical.

I turned the table around. And he maintained that if it were his son with the virus, he will allow only a woman living with HIV to marry him in such situation.

The NACA and UNAIDS spectrum estimates indicate 3.61 percent persons are living with HIV in Imo state. The state tops 17th position amongst the 36 states and Federal Capital Territory, in NACA’s HIV ratings.

Imo state, according to the NACA/UNAIDS survey, is one of the high burden states supported by international partners. Notwithstanding this, no fewer than 115,303 persons from 15 years and above are living with the virus. Of these, 34.94 percent of them are under the ART coverage.

The survey yet reveals 7,782 children between age zero to 14 years are HIV positive in the state with 45.58 percent of them under the ART coverage. Unfortunately, no fewer than 13,987 persons freshly contracted the virus in the state while 7,227 mothers are in need of prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) services.

March 2017, the state governor Mr. Rochas Okorocha had cried out over the spread of HIV across the state.

He had blamed the state’s bubbling night life for the increase in the spread of the virus, saying there was no hotel that is not filled every weekends in the state. He had urged parents and guardians to caution their children and wards.

“Night life has no doubt, improved in Owerri. We will continue to light the streets. We should however remember that the situation carries with it, a collateral danger like HIV and this is why we should be very careful,” he had said last year.

Children of school age, unfortunately, are a part of these statistics in the state. However, like adults living with the virus who are discriminated against, they too are not spared.

CAN’T SHARE CUTLERIES, UTENSILS, WITH HIV POSITIVE PERSONS!

Mrs. Chibueze Chimobi told me she is a staff nurse while I warmed her up for the interview. Other parents interviewed before her, while listing their HIV prevention measures included not allowing their kids share cutleries with persons living with the virus. So, I asked her a question in that direction.

“No. No, I will not because of the risk.”

She went on to tell me there may be a mistake. “Being children, they do make mistakes. So, I will not allow my child to share anything with anybody to avoid mistake because fork is part of sharp objects and anything can happen.”

Mrs. Chimobi is not the only parent who has issues with their child sharing cutleries with a person living with the virus. Mrs. Mayah Ikechukwu, a fruits and vegetables seller also tilts in that direction.

“No, I am not going to allow that because my child may have a sore in his or her mouth and if he shares cutlery with this particular HIV person, virus is bound to get into the sore and infect my own child,” she said.

However, should her child test positive to the virus, she would inform the authorities of any school where she goes scouting for admission for him or her. Mrs. Ikechukwu opines that her honesty should pay. And if it doesn’t, there certainly will be a school which would recognize it and grant her child admission.

Her disclosure is for the protection of other kids in school, she told me.

It isn’t just parents who have issues with an HIV negative person sharing personal items like cutleries with a person living with HIV. Tomiwa Sanya, a 17 year old student wouldn’t as well.

I could feel and see sincerity written all over him that he wouldn’t stop being friends with a friend who tests positive to the virus. He has measures in place to protect himself. But like Mrs. Chimobi and Ikechukwu, he too will not share cutleries with anyone living with the virus.

He however takes it further “…I will of course not use his utensils as well.”

He admitted that notwithstanding the virus “only works inside the human system,” he wouldn’t be able to share clothes with a friend from the moment he is confirmed HIV positive.

“At this point, no! no! no!. I don’t know, I feel like it’s just fear; for anything can happen… It’s just the fear of everything,” he told me, while I stood behind the camera, holding onto the handle of the tripod and staring at him

HIV DOES NOT SPREAD THROUGH SHARING OF CUTLERIES

“Cutleries has to do with the spoon, the table knife, the fork. And no research has told us that using all these, you can contract or share HIV.” This is Mrs. Florence Oyakhilome-Edemode, Executive Director of the Edo State Agency for the Control of AIDS (Edo SACA).

Reacting to parents not wanting their children share cutleries with kids living with the virus, the Edo SACA helms-woman said persons who test negative to HIV can only be at risk of contracting it when they share sharp objects. These, according to her, include needles, razor blades,and other sharp unsterilized objects.

“In the first instance, a child is not going to be using table knife to cut fingernails that will endanger him or her to have blood contact through these cutleries.

“Research has told us that except this sharp object is having direct contact with the infected person’s blood, that is the only way he can infect another person.”

“THESE PARENTS ARE BEING DRIVEN BY IGNORANCE!”

Mr. Aborisade explained that these parents are being driven by ignorance.

“What happens when a child plays? Do you get infected with sharing a plate? So, I don’t think we should be giving space to ignorance as projected by these parents, if there are any of them.”

I wondered what he meant by ‘if there are any of them.’ I had sent him link to the first part of this story in which there are audios and videos of such parents.

“I don’t think we should be giving it any attention because they are just speaking from ignorance.”

He said “we simply need to educate them.”

I went on to describe the meat-tearing/sharing fear of some parents.

“I think we are speaking to ignorance. The scenario itself, I doubt if it is going to happen. How many people share meat? How many people use their teeth in cutting meat?” he asked.

I wanted to tell him while I was a child, even now as an adult, while eating, I used and still use my teeth in dividing meat. And while feeding a little baby, I use my teeth in getting some chunk, chew a little to soften it and give to the child. And I see many mothers do it. But I could feel the passion in him and decided not to interrupt his flow.

Mr. Aborisade said such parents are not to be given attention. “We have passed this stage. And that is the reality. We have passed this stage. Anyone who is not aware should come and be educated. We have passed this stage.

“If they were saying this in the last 15 years, that’s okay. But now, we shouldn’t be saying this. And that is the fact. We shouldn’t be saying this. We need to make them understand the fact that the only solution here is for them to be educated.”

He said there are so many other important things (about HIV) than giving space and voice to the ignorance of parents. “If they exist, we shouldn’t educate them because it is taking us to where we have left.”

I was shocked, so asked “are you saying we shouldn’t educate them sir?”

“This is not education. Do you understand what I am saying? This is not education. And there are serious issues. There are serious issues, more serious issues that we need to focus on. That is my position,” he answered.

WE STILL HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DE-STIGMATIZE HIV!

But Nigeria’s health minister, Prof. Isaac Adewole doesn’t travel same path with Mr. Aborisade. In an interview Saturday August 11th, he expressed concern over the findings in this investigation. He said “What you just told me, if confirmed, shows we still have a lot of work to do in order to de-stigmatize HIV.

“My day will be a day when we will treat HIV just like how we treat hypertension and diabetes. With the treatment we currently have, HIV has become any of those chronic disease that cannot be cured but can be controlled.”

He said the parents and school authorities’ discriminatory acts is a reflection of the amount of work yet to be done by the country. The health minister called on all Nigerians to join the movement in eradicating HIV stigmatization in the country. He said people’s discriminatory actions (those in this story and others) is as a result of stark ignorance about how HIV is transmitted.

“It’s not just schools. It’s a situation in which all of us must be involved in education, improving awareness, eliminating ignorance and letting them know HIV is not even like TB where someone is coughing and you pick it. It’s not like pneumonia, it’s not like flu.

“This is good work (referring to this story). And I will pass this message to the team that we have serious work to do. And I will also work with my education colleague (minister of education).”

Editor’s Note: The interview, audio-visual of the child- Master Tomiwa Sanya, in the story, are used with parental consent.

This story was produced with support from Code For Africa and her Naija Data Ladies Fellowship Programme.