Namibia: Patients Cry Foul Over ARV Label

This is just one of the complaints they have, which they say is tantamount to promoting stigma and discrimination against people living with the disease.

The other problems they face include enduring derogatory remarks when they cannot pay their fees at health care facilities, and being denied anti-retroviral drugs for a longer period of time especially when they have to go outside Windhoek for some time.

Members of HIV/AIDS support groups in Windhoek told New Era last week that this even prevented people infected with the disease from seeking medical attention for fear of being labelled as such.

Petrus Shuuya, of the Dhiginina Support Group in Babylon, last week said labelling the passports disclosed their status even when they were not ready to do so.

"Some are not ready to disclose their status for fear of discrimination. Others are afraid of being chased out their homes especially when you are dealing with relatives that have not received any counselling yet," said Shuuya, who has already declared his HIV status.

Total Control of the Epidemic Coordinator for Babylon, Absalom Shiikwa, said even though people wanted to be on medication, such actions discouraged them.

Members of the Mekoro Support Group in Kilimanjaro said they also experience the same problem. They said even though health officers have said the label is for administrative purposes, this could have been written inside and not outside the passports.

They said some were forced to hide their passports for fear of their families, neighbours or other people knowing their status.

"It prevents us from being open about the epidemic," said one support group member, who cannot be named because she has not come out about her status yet.

They also alleged that some health officers said they did not want to have their passports labelled so they could continue spreading the epidemic.

According to Dr Rheinhardt Collin Gariseb, Katutura Hospital Superintendent, since May this year the label is not written outside the passports anymore.

He told New Era that patients with the labels outside are those who received their passports before May and the hospitals would replace the passports once they are full.

He acknowledged, "We did not know the implications then. It was for identification purposes," he said.

Amon Ngavetene, Coordinator of the AIDS Law Unit at the Legal Assistance Centre said labelling the health passport was tantamount to breach of confidentiality, which people living with HIV/AIDS have the right to.

"There are no good grounds to justify it, this is in breach of confidentiality," he said, adding that it was not clear what the labelling of the passports with corky pens was aimed at achieving. He said the health workers were able to read and could read the words even if they were written inside the passport.

Apparently, failure to pay hospital fees is also met with derogatory remarks such as, "How come you have such an expensive cellphone if you cannot afford to pay for medicine? Why don't you go to those who infected you to get money for your medicine?"

They allege that some have stopped taking their medication because they cannot stand up to the officials.

The AIDS Law Unit, said Ngavetene, has taken up a few cases mainly involving attitudes of health care workers. These include denying patients medication when they have no money, and using derogatory remarks.

The practices are believed to be rife in Caprivi, Oshakati and Kavango although they are going on countrywide.

Gariseb said the patients should identify the workers who make derogatory remarks for the hospital to deal with them accordingly.

"They are not allowed to make such derogatory remarks. People get away with such comments because they are not identified," he added.

As per ministry policy, patients who cannot afford to pay for their medication are not supposed to be turned away even though this is still happening.

Gariseb said patients are supposed to pay a N$10 administrative fee "but nobody should be turned away for non-payment."

He said people who cannot pay should be referred to the office of the superintendent or the matron for assistance.

To solve this issue, Gariseb said he would take up the matter with officials responsible for dispensing ARVs.

Namibia: Patients Cry Foul Over ARV Label

AIDS/HIV