Husbands come first in HIV treatment<\/p>\n
Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
When a month's dose of medicines for HIV treatment still cost
\naround Rp 8 million (US$860) in 1997, Febri, her husband Toro and
\ntheir son Sandy (not their real names), who had all contracted
\nthe HIV virus, could not afford to buy medicines for the whole
\nfamily.<\/p>\n
The couple later decided that Toro would be the first to take
\nthe antiretroviral (ARV) drugs because he was considered \"the
\nbreadwinner\", although both Febri and Toro worked together in
\nrunning their business.<\/p>\n
Years later, when the price of ARV's halved to Rp 4 million,
\nthe couple prioritized Sandy's treatment.<\/p>\n
Febri, now 33, was the last in the family to start taking the
\nARVs.<\/p>\n
Till now, the couple has not endeavored to discover who it was
\nthat first contracted the HIV virus.<\/p>\n
\"Such practice, where wives put themselves behind their
\nhusbands or children regarding ARV, happens quite often,\" Atiek,
\nan activist at the Pelita Ilmu Foundation, said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
She said the foundation discovered the phenomenon at a
\ngathering of some 40 women living with HIV\/AIDS in April 2004.<\/p>\n
The women confided that if the family could not afford to buy
\ndrugs for more than one person, then the husbands got first
\npriority, although in many cases the women were infected from
\ntheir husbands.<\/p>\n
Tika (also not her real name), 16, got married last year to an
\ninjecting drug user (IDU), though she did not know this at the
\ntime. Four months after the wedding, her husband died from AIDS
\nat the age of 22.<\/p>\n
Marini (not her real name), 26, has a different story. Her
\nhusband, who was also an IDU, had known before they got married
\nthat he had contracted the HIV virus. But he did not tell her
\nbecause he did not want to lose her.<\/p>\n
In 2002, their three-month-old daughter was hospitalized for
\nthree months for various illness. The hospital performed a blood
\ntests on the baby and the results showed that she was HIV
\npositive.<\/p>\n
Afterwards, Marini found out that she also was HIV positive.<\/p>\n
\"We were separated at that time. When I found out, I called
\nhim and yelled, saying rude things to him because I was so angry.
\nHad he told me earlier I could have received some treatment while
\nI was pregnant so that my baby would not have contracted the
\nvirus,\" she said.<\/p>\n
\"Researchers have found that women have a higher risk of
\ncontracting HIV through sexual activity. One of the reasons for
\nthis is because virus concentrations in semen are higher than
\nthat in vaginal fluid,\" Zubairi Djoerban, a specialist in
\nHIV\/AIDS, explained on Tuesday during a seminar on women and
\nHIV\/AIDS.<\/p>\n
He added that a lot of women, who are economically dependent
\nupon men, were more vulnerable to HIV.<\/p>\n
\"For economic reasons, a lot of women are afraid to refuse
\nsexual intercourse with men although they suspect the men have
\nHIV,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He added that most female sex workers were powerless if their
\nclients refused to use condoms.<\/p>\n
The government has estimated that there are between 90,000 and
\n130,000 people living with HIV\/AIDS in Indonesia.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/husbands-come-first-in-hiv-treatment-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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