The chief executive officer(CEO) , Lagos AIDS Control Agency (LSACA), Dr Folakemi Animashaun, has debunked the myth that persons with disabilities are less likely to be vulnerable to HIV because of perceived less sexual activity within the disabled community, saying that everyone who is exposed to the virus, whether abled body or with disability, is vulnerable to HIV.
Dr Animashaun made this
disclosure while speaking on an exclusive chat with Lagos Today Extra!,
on the sideline of a one-day awareness and sensitization programme organized
for persons with disabilities in the state on HIV prevention and management.
The programme, held at
the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), brought together members of
the hearing and visually impaired community, stakeholders, and advocates to
enhance awareness on HIV prevention, promote disability-inclusive healthcare
services, and address the challenges faced by persons with disabilities in
accessing HIV-related information and support.
“Yes, persons with
disabilities are also vulnerable to HIV. Whether you are abled body or living
with disability, if you are exposed to HIV, you are vulnerable to the virus,”
Dr Animashaun told our correspondent.
She added that even
though the agency was still working out the data to find out the percentage of
PWDs among those living with HIV in Lagos state, there was no denying the fact
that anyone exposed to the virus is vulnerable to HIV, whether abled body or
with disability.
“And that’s why we are
organising this event specifically for those living with disabilities. We want
them to know how to find out if they or their partners are HIV positive and
what to do if they are, how to reduce the viral load through medication and also
how to avoid discriminating against those who are HIV positive,” she further
added.
She revealed that
participants in the programme are also taught how to recognise and avoid
domestic violence, stressing that even
though it may not be rampant in the disability community, cases of domestic
violence are rampant in the larger society.
“People who knew that
their partners are positive and willingly go into the marriage, end up
inflicting domestic violence on such partners. We are also using this
sensitization event to discourage such attitudes,” she said.
The Ceo of LSACA said
information materials for the programme have been specifically processed into
formats that are accessible to the participants. “In this event, we have
participants from both the visually and the hearing impaired communities. And
to ensure that the information is properly digested by participants, we have
them presented in formats that each group can easily access. For those with
visual impairment, we have the information in brail while there is a sign
language interpreter on ground to pass the message to those with hearing
impairment,” she stated.
On issues of stigma,
Animashaun said LSACA is there to mediate for those who are being stigmatized
or discriminated on because they are HIV positive. She said the agency is there
for people to report to and get justice.
According
to her, being a person with disability in Lagos does not exclude one from
knowing what one should know concerning HIV, hence the need to have a separate
awareness programme for persons with disabilities. “The mantra from His
Excellency, Babajide Sanwo-Olu is that
no one should be left behind and at LSACA, we have keyed in to that policy
direction of inclusivity. So we have the mandate to ensure that anyone with
disability in Lagos has the basic knowledge
of HIV, knows how to interact with those living with HIV, and how to
prevent themselves from contracting the virus. We are also here to make
participants understand that those who have the virus must not transmit it to
others and that they are taking their medications regularly,” she said.
Earlier, during his
presentation, Mr Michael Essien, one of the facilitators, outlined the main
modes of HIV transmission to include unprotected sexual intercourse, mother to
baby transmission during pregnancy, delivery and breastfeeding, as well as sharing
of sharp objects that have been used to pierce the body, and through blood
transfusion.
“The prevention for
sexually transmitted HIV is either proper and consistent use of condoms during
sex, abstinence , or faithfulness to partners,” he said, adding that pregnant
women should regularly take their medications to avoid transmitting the virus
to their baby either in the womb, during delivery or in the process of
breastfeeding. He also advised participants to avoid sharing sharp objects like
syringes, needles and hair clippers, while patients going for blood transfusion
should make sure that the blood they are using is certified by the Lagos state
government.
Another facilitator, Dr
Sule Omolola, while making her own presentation, said The right of persons to
access healthcare should not be violated, adding that this happens when someone
is denied access to healthcare because of their disability status.
“If, for instance, a
hearing impaired patient goes to a healthcare facility and the medical
personnel says the patient should go home and bring a family member as an
interpreter, it is very wrong. Such a family member may not only end up
disclosing the HIV status of the patient to others but may also start giving
the patient instructions on what to do and what not to do, most of which may
not be medically correct,” she said, adding that people who are vulnerable to HIV and
largely depend on others for their livelihood, often lack access to healthcare
and this increases their vulnerability as well as transmitting the virus to
others.
Dr Sule said the fear
of negative attitudes of healthcare workers is a big barrier in the way of most
patients trying to access such healthcare.
She also revealed that
women and girls are at greater risk of gender based violence within the
disability community. “Women and girls are at greater risk of gender based
violence and this is often committed by care givers and family members,” she
said adding that such a situation could
lead to physical injury, HIV infection and unwanted pregnancy.
“Some of these care
givers may withhold access to mobility aids and insist that they would not release
them to you unless you obey them. This becomes double burden because first you
are with disability and now, you are being denied access to healthcare,” she
further stated.
Dr Sule also informed
participants that most of these atrocities against persons with disabilities stem
from cultural myths, saying that in some societies, there is the dangerous
belief that if one have sex with a person with disability, one would be cured
of one’s HIV, while some people also believe that having sex with a disabled
person would make them wealthy. These myths, she said, fuel the risk of gender
base violence and risk of HIV infection among persons with disabilities.
Clarifying the
relationship between stigma and discrimination, Dr Sule said stigma occurs in
the mind, when people begin to have negative thoughts about others because of
their gender, health or disability status while discrimination sets in when
such stigma is translated into action by isolating such people. Stigma, she
said, feeds disability because if someone is isolated due to stigma and
discrimination, they become economically disadvantaged and have to rely on
others and when this happens, it leads to vulnerability that may end up with
the person involved contracting the virus and unknowingly transmitting it to
others.
Dr Sule, however, said
even though there are several barriers on the way of persons with disabilities accessing
healthcare, they have rights under the law to overcome these barriers if they
report to agencies like the LSACA or the Lagos State Office for Disability
Affairs (LASODA)whenever they perceive that those rights are being violated,
whether by family members, care givers or healthcare providers.
The event featured
demonstrations on how to properly use both the male and female condoms as well
as on-the-spot self saliva HIV test carried out by participants themselves to
know their HIV status.
Some of the
participants who spoke with Lagos Today Extra!, said they benefited a
lot from the event, promising to cascade the information they got down to their
various disability communities when they get back.
“I have learnt so many
things about HIV today. For instance, I did not know until today that I could
carry out a self test all by myself. This is a good thing because it ensures
confidentiality and reduces the likelihood of stigma in the event of a negative
test. Again, I learnt of the many legal avenues at our disposal when our rights
are being violated in our quest to have access to healthcare as persons with
disabilities,” one of the participants who gave her name as Ola, said.
“The sessions were very
interactive. We had opportunities to ask and answer questions. I have learnt so
much today and when I get back, I will cascade the information I have gathered
down to my community so that those who are not here can also benefit from the
information,” another participant stated.
Cross sections of
participants at the event
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