Abstract Book Vol. 2 [International Conference on AIDS (14th: 2002: Barcelona, Spain)]

XIV International AIDS Conference

Abstracts WePeF6688-WePeF6693 257

WePeF6688I Preparing for discrimination against women and
girls living with HIV and AIDS
I.S. Sinha. Institution, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Issues: In South Asia, women in prostitution and wives of migrants account as
the most vulnerable to HIV AIDS. Preventative Initiatives have not been followed
with Care and Support Programmes (Institutional or Home Based Palliative Care)
to respond to the needs of those already infected with the virus. In the wake of
the half-baked consciousness about HIV, this has given way to the victimisation
of women within prostitution or those who are housewives. The Sexual Health
Intervention Programmes have not responded to the needs of this situation.
Description: The paper will include experiences of women and girls in Red Light
Areas and Source Areas of Communities with a high outflow of male economic
migrants. The experiences, where women in prostitution have not found the muchneeded Social and Political support after having tested positive and this has been
a deterrent to others from testing. Initiatives on HIV, with focus on only Prevention, have suffered credibility due to lack of continuity in response to needs. The
powerless status of women within families results in acute social and economic
ostracisation. The paper will focus on integrating Home Based Palliative Care for
infected women and Protection of their Human Rights.
Lessons learned: Programmes on Home Based Palliative Care with the active
support from State Health Systems and Protection of Rights of Women in the face
of Community Victimisation are the need of the hour.
Recommendations: This paper recommends Care and Support Programmes for
seropositive people living with HIV, especially, Women, in prostitution and in migration prone communities with components on their Protection of Human Rights.
Presenting author: Indrani Sinha, 38B, Mahanirban Road, Kolkata - 700 029,
West Bengal, India, India, Tel.: [phone], Fax: [phone], E-mail:
[email protected]
WePeF6689 The factors affecting the reabilitation of children
orphaned by aids in abia state of Nigeria
E.E.E. Enwereii. Abia State University, College of Medicine, Abia State
University, Uturu,Abia State, Nigeria, Nigeria
Issues: Breaking the sociocultural practices like property inheritance at death
early marriage, child labour child trafficking and the ritual cleansing of the children orphaned by aids consitute the major consraint in effective reabilitation of
these orphans. At present over 50% of the orphans have dropped out of school
and are now living on the streets indicating the need for intrervention.
Description: To demonstrate concern for the wellbeing of the these orphans advocating community mobilisation enlightenment campaigns arecarried out in the
communities while providing skill aquisition education and employment opportunities to the orphans.
Lessons learned: Using advocacy and social mobilisation have helped to enligthen the society as well as minimized some negative socio cultural attitudes
against children orphaned by aids.
Recommendations: To ensure quality life for children orphaned by aids in the
communities regular seminars and or workshops on the impacts of hiv/aids should
be organised as well as form the orphans into peer support groups.
Presenting author: Ezinne Enwereji, College of Medicine, Abia State University,
Uturu,Abia State, Nigeria, Nigeria, Tel.: [phone], Fax: [phone],
E-mail: [email protected]
WePeF6690 Partner reaction to HIV disclosure
E. Mouvis1, A. Deverell1, J. McIntyre1, G. Gray2. 1University, Foyer Sainte
TherAse, 21 Rue Luneau, 85000 La Roche sur Yon, Vendde, South Africa;
2Hospital, Johannesburg, South Africa
Background: Although African women constitute the vast majority of HIV cases
in South Africa, little is known about the psychosocial consequences they face at
disclosure. This qualitative research study aimed to explore HIV-infected women's
experiences at disclosure of their serostatus to their partner.
Methods: A survey was carried out over a three-week period, among 101
seropositive women from various support groups for HIV-infected women in
Soweto, South Africa. The survey focused on factors that promote domestic violence, rejection and abandonment of women at and/or after disclosure. Contextual factors, namely socio-economic determinants and the time interval between
women's diagnosis and disclosure were also examined.
Results: A Thematic Content Analysis of the interviews revealed that male partners who had shown a history of abusive behaviour were more likely to abuse
their female partners, either verbally or physically. There was a tendency for the
occurrence of abusive behaviour after disclosure to increase in cases when the
male partner abused drugs or alcohol. Finally, it was revealed that social stigma
appears to play a role in influencing partner reaction following disclosure.
Conclusions: These findings have implications for the development of interven
tions to enhance women's disclosure of their HIV-positive status to their partners.
Further research would be useful in examining the sociocultural factors influencing male partner's abusive behaviour in a South-African context.
Presenting author: Elena Mouyis, Foyer Sainte Therese, 21 Rue Luneau, 85000
La Roche sur Yon, Vendee, France, Tel.: [phone], E-mail: elenamouyis
@ hotmail.com

WePeF6691I Gender issues in the treatment and support of
mothers enrolled on the prevention of mother to
child transmission in Uganda
J.E. Angulo, RP. Okong. Nsambya Hospital, Prochild Outreach Project, Nsambya
Hospital, P0. Box 26788, Kampala, Uganda
Issues: Gender issues play a major role in the uptake of PMTCT activities and
need to be addressed in order to register a reduction in MTCT Mothers enrolled
on the Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission (PMTCT) programme are identified and psychosocial supportive counseling offered to the sero-positive pregnant women and their partners both in the hospital and at home.
Description: Prochild Outreach Project funded and supported by Terre des
hommes Foundation-Laussane operates from Nsambya Hospital a pilot site for
the PMTCT Programme in Uganda. Women attending Antenatal clinic are offered
Voluntary Counselling and Testing. Those found HIV positive and willing to take
Antiretrovirals are given AZT at 36 weeks of gestation, niverapine at onset of
labour, and counselling on infant feeding. The infant feeding options are exclusive
breastfeeding or (and) generic infant formula. Other options are provided after
hospital and home based counseling. Prochild Outreach Project enhances the
activities of PMTCT by providing psychosocial and counseling support.
Lessons learned: Women are in a weaker position to make decisions in most of
the areas affecting them. They fear rejection if their husbands discover that they
are not breastfeeding because they are HIV positive. Most of the problems faced
by the women have to do with gender inequities in society.
Recommendations: This research recommends that
1) Gender issues that invariably affect HIV transmission be addressed by putting
more emphasis on active roles for the male partners. This will encourage dialogue and closeness between men and women on their roles in the plight of child
survival.
2) Reduction of Gender inequities to help the child survive in the plight of
HIV/AIDS through strengthening the woman's position socially, economically and
in the reproductive life.
3) Gender sensitivity in designing and implementing HIV transmission and prevention programs be emphasized.
Presenting author: Joy Angulo, Prochild Outreach Project, Nsambya Hospital,
P.O. Box 26788, Kampala, Uganda, Tel.: [phone], Fax: [phone],
E-mail: [email protected]
WePeF6692 The role of laboratory monitoring in HIV care and
treatment
S.P Atwiinel, TW. Otim', R. Enzama2. 'Institution, Joint Clinical Reseach
Center, Mengo, Kampala, Uganda; 2Laboratory technologist, Mengo, Uganda
Joint Clinical Research Centre (JCRC) is the leading clinical center providing both
lab monitoring tests and HAART to people infected with HIV/AIDS in Uganda.
With the introduction of generic ARVs in October 2000, the number of clients on
HAART doubled due to reduced costs for ARVs; for effective treatment, monitoring the progress of therapy is crucial. Currently less than 30% of clients accessing
ARVs have access to laboratory monitoring tests like Viral Load (VL) & CD4/CD8
given that the cost of both ARVs and lab tests far exceeds a family's total per
capita expenditure on health in most parts of Uganda.
At JCRC, lab and pharmacy records were reviewed to relate clients on HAART
and those accessing lab tests like VL & CD4/CD8 between January 1999 and
December 2001 and analyze the trends in accessing HAART and lab monitoring
tests.
A total number of 2824 clients were on HAART in 1999. 17.63% did VL, and
20.86 did CD4CD8, while in the year 2000, a total number of 2556 clients were
on HAART 41.86% did VL, and 49.96 did CD4CD8 and in the year 2001, a total
of 9685 clients were on HAART, 12.15% did VL, and 28.19 did CD4CD8. Lab
monitoring was fairly done in 2000 because the costs were subsidized, however
with the scrapping off of the subsidy, the cost for lab monitoring tests is very high
compared to that of drugs and clients have resorted to taking drugs and ignore
lab monitoring.
As demand for these drugs increases and there use becomes widespread, there
is a need to build capacity for laboratory monitoring in HIV care and treatment in
order to avoid a latent danger of drug resistance by making laboratory monitoring
affordable.
Presenting author: Simon Peter Atwiine, Joint Clinical Reseach Center, P.O Box
10005, Mengo, kampala, Uganda, Tel.: [phone], Fax: [phone], Email: [email protected]
WePeF6693 Establishment of a quality assessment program
for the Brazilian laboratory network for CD4 T-cell
levels using rresh EDTA treated peripheral blood
samples

E.G. Kallas', F.P Barcellos2, M.K.C. Brunialti', H. Tomiyama', M.A. Vianal,
R. Salomao', C.M. Capitani2, P.R. Teixeira2, M.C.S. Dantas2. 'Federal Univ. of
Sao Paulo, Rua Pedro de Toledo 781, 15 andar, frente, 04039-032, Sao Paulo,
SP Brazil; 2Brazilian Ministry of Health, Brasilia, Brazil
Background: After the availability of antiretroviral drugs for Brazilian patients, the
Ministry of Health established a system of laboratories to provide HIV viral load
and CD4+ T cell enumeration to assist the decisions of starting and monitoring