Can you imagine standing by as your child is teased by other children and even ADULTS? Or, watch as your child's "friends" are told they can no longer play with your child because he/she has HIV/AIDS? Or can you imagine not being able to get a job or losing your job because you are HIV+? Can you imagine your child watching as her father gets sick and dies of the same disease she has? Then, she watches her mother or siblings die of the same thing, and now, she sits back and waits until it happens to her (because what else can she do? She doesn't have access to the medicine she needs to stay alive). This is a reality that many children face!! Look at the beautiful faces above. Do you care that they have the medicine that they need? Do you care that they have the support of someone who loves them unconditionally? Someone that knows that they are a child, not a disease!!!! Who would stand up for your child, if they were in their shoes? Would you? Will you? All 4 of these precious gifts from God are in need of a friend that will not let them down. Will you be their strength?
Below is more information on the epidemic as it concerns the Dominican Republic (2 of the children above live there. The other 2 live in Ecuador):
HIV/AIDS affects everyone in every region and the response to the pandemic is global. HIV/AIDS is primarily a disease of poverty, its spread is intricately linked to the wider inequalities of poverty and gender, and it disproportionately affects the most marginal and disempowered. Once infected, people living with HIV and AIDS face further marginalization and discrimination because of the extreme stigma associated with the disease.
HIV/AIDS is heavily affecting the Caribbean region and its population. Only sub-Saharan Africa has a higher percentage of its population living with HIV/AIDS. According to UNAIDS, AIDS is now the leading cause of death in men and women between the ages of 15 and 44 living in the Caribbean. Infection rates currently stand at an estimated 2.3 %. However, despite successes in some countries, the epidemics in many Caribbean countries are growing. The total number of people living with the virus in the region is estimated to be 300,000, with 30,000 people becoming infected in 2005.
This report is based on the findings of Amnesty International (AI) research into the connection between human rights violations and HIV/AIDS in two countries in the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic and Guyana. It shows how abuses of civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights increase people's risk of HIV infection. It also shows how those affected by HIV/AIDS are denied their human rights.These findings highlight the close interrelationship between human rights and HIV/AIDS, a theme reflected in AI's recommendations which focus on the need for comprehensive rights-based approaches to HIV/AIDS in all areas of prevention, treatment, care and support.AI believes that this is a crucial time in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Caribbean countries differ greatly in their culture, their political and legal systems and in the epidemiological development of HIV/AIDS. Most countries in the Caribbean are island states with small populations. This has implications for the particular dynamics of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
People living with HIV/AIDS have to deal not only with the disease itself, but also with society's response to it and to them. All too often that response is characterized by fear, stigma and discrimination.
"Stigmatization occurs because of misinformation about transmission, fears of infection and the incurability of the disease, and its nature and degree are determined by a variety of social, cultural, political and economic factors, including the stage of the disease and the sex of the infected person."The UN Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences.
The consequences of stigma and discrimination for people affected by HIV/AIDS can be very far reaching.
"Not only are incidences of stigma and discrimination upsetting to the individual affected and may cause serious problems wherever they occur, but stigma and discrimination in health care settings can have particularly severe consequences. Fear of being identified as vulnerable to infection or as HIV-positive prevents many people from coming forward for voluntary testing, with the result that they are less likely to adopt measures to protect themselves and others from the virus. Inappropriate behavior towards those who are ill can lead to depression, social isolation and a worsening of their condition, which in turn places a greater burden on those who care for them. Furthermore, international conventions agree that discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS is often also an abuse of their human rights."
AI interviewed a wide range of people from policymakers, to activists to community members in rural areas. All without exception highlighted stigma and discrimination as obstacles to an effective response to HIV/AIDS. The stigma affects people in a whole variety of ways; it may discourage people from seeking information on prevention, as well as testing, counselling and treatment.
Poverty
"Ill health is both a cause and a consequence of poverty: sick people are more likely to become poor and the poor are more vulnerable to disease and disability." UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health.
Poverty is a significant problem in both the Dominican Republic and Guyana where 20 and 36 per cent of the population respectively live below the national poverty line. Treatment for HIV/AIDS is in theory available free of charge (without direct user fees) in both countries. However, AI repeatedly heard stories from people who were unable to access treatment and care because they could not afford the travel costs to get to clinics or hospitals, or they could not afford adequate food to take the medicines with.
Poverty and the lack of economic opportunities also affect the behaviour of young women and men, increasing their risk of HIV infection. While the number of women entering the labour market has increased over the past years, many women work in the informal sector, for example as domestics, where wages are very low or may largely consist of payments in kind, making it harder for women to support themselves.
As this report shows, people living with HIV/AIDS also face discrimination in the workplace. Some may lose their jobs after disclosing their status. Some employers force workers to take HIV tests, others test them without their knowledge or consent, in clear violation of human rights obligations and government guidelines, which stipulate that testing should be voluntary and with full consent of the testee. In some cases, people living with HIV/AIDS are unable to find work because of their status; in others, employment may be conditional on a negative HIV test. Similarly, children and adolescents might face discrimination in their access to education, based on their perceived or actual HIV status. If no mechanisms are available to allow people to challenge such discrimination then their rights are further violated by denying them access to justice.
*The Dominican Republic has a population of 8 million people, some 25 per cent of whom live below the national poverty line.
*According to UNAIDS, 88,000 people --1.7 per cent of the population-- in the Dominican Republic are living with HIV/AIDS, of which it is estimated that between 10-15,000 people need antiretroviral treatment. Some 2,700 people living with HIV/AIDS were receiving these medicines at the beginning of 2006...(What about the other 7,000-12,000 people?)
*HIV/AIDS is now the leading cause of death in women of reproductive age in the Dominican Republic
*HIV/AIDS infection rates are also particularly high in bateyes which are predominately populated by Haitian migrants or Dominicans of Haitian descent.
(For a more extensive report, here is the link:
http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?lang=e&id=ENGAMR010022006 )
