Welcome to Serac - HIV/AIDS

THE RIGHTS OF PEOPLE LIVING HIV/AIDS (PLWHA)

People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) are people who have tested positive to HIV/AIDS.

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a disease caused by the Human-Immuno deficiency Virus (HIV). AIDS breaks down the immune system of a man/woman/child and therefore leaves the person open to all sorts of infections (called opportunistic infections), e.g. TB, Pneumonia, these infections cause various symptoms which can be used to diagnose AIDS. The major symptoms include:

Sexual intercourse
Through infected blood and blood products (through operations e.g. blood transfusion)
Through the use of contaminated equipment (especially through the sharing of needles & other sharp skin piercing objects
From mother to child, before birth, during birth or shortly after giving birth through breast-feeding.

It may take a number of years before persons infected with the virus develop the AIDS disease, however, they CAN ONLY transmit the virus to others by the methods stated above. HIV IS NOT spread by

It is generally known that PLWHA and their families are often rejected and chased away by their neighbors, other family members, teachers, landlords/tenants, employers at work and even in churches and mosques. The infected person is now all alone & has no one to turn to for comfort. This is because people do not understand the nature of the HIV/AIDS disease and how people are infected. Because of fear and ignorance no one wants to associate with HIV person. The effect of these reactions from other people is that the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS are violated, example, their right to health is violated when Doctors/Nurses refuse to treat them because they are HIV+. To stop this situation the international community have come out with some guidelines for protecting the rights of PLWHA. The Nigerian government also has a policy containing these guidelines.

The Rights of People Living With HIV/AIDS include
The Right

To live, so their right to life must be protected
To be treated when they are ill and visit hospitals/clinics for treatment
To be treated equally before the law
To the best medical care available and understanding
To privacy of information concerning test results and general conditions of health; Doctors/Nurses/lab. Attendants have no right to talk about a PLWHA’s condition to other people
To education. No parent, principal or head teacher has the right to remove or expel an HIV student from school
To work, for as long as they can. And the right to be given a job without any conditions apart from the qualifications needed for the job
To be educated on everything concerning HIV/AIDS and to be able to express themselves
To enjoy the benefits of new drugs and treatments
To marry and to start a family and for that family to be treated equally in the community
To freedom to move around and not be locked up except for committing criminal offences
To move within and outside the country the right to choose where to live without harassment because of HIV status
To form groups (social, political, etc) and also take part in activities of already existing groups
To vote and be voted for and to express his/her culture
To be free from wicked, inhuman or embarrassing treatment or punishment
To receive special attention and treatment for Women and children

Below are the International Guidelines for Government to act for protecting the Rights of People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA)

Create a national plan for responding to HIV/AIDS that would involve government at the national, state and local level. The plan which must be transparent and accountable must also involve all stakeholders including PLWHA

Make sure, politically and financially, that the community is involved in all phases of HIV/AIDS policy design, program implementation and evaluation and that community organizations are enabled to carry out their activities, including in the field of ethics, law and human rights, effectively

Review and reform public health laws to ensure that they adequately address public health issues raised by HIV/AIDS, and that their provisions applicable to casually transmitted diseases are not inappropriately applied to HIV/AIDS and are consistent with international human rights obligations

Review and reform criminal laws and correctional systems to ensure that they are consistent with international human rights obligations and are not misused in the context of HIV/AIDS or targeted against vulnerable groups

Enact and strengthen anti-discrimination and other protective laws that protect vulnerable groups, PLWHA and people with disabilities from discrimination in both the public and private sectors.

Ensure privacy and confidentiality and ethics in research involving human subjects, emphasize education and conciliation, and provide for speedy and effective administrative and civil remedies.

Enact legislation to provide for the regulation of HIV-related goods, services and information, so as to ensure widespread availability of qualitative prevention measures and services, adequate HIV prevention and care information, and safe and effective medication at an affordable price.

Implement and support legal support services that will educate people affected by HIV/AIDS about their rights.

Provide free legal services to enforce those rights, develop expertise on HIV-related legal issues and utilize means of protection in addition to the courts, such as offices of ministry of justice, ombudspersons, health complaint units and human rights commissions.

In collaboration with and through the community, promote a supportive and enabling environment for women, children and other vulnerable groups by addressing underlying prejudices and inequalities.

Promote the wide and on-going distribution of creative education, training and media programs specifically designed to change attitudes of discrimination and stigmatization associated with HIV/AIDS to understanding and acceptance

Ensure that government agencies and the private sector develop codes of conduct regarding HIV/AIDS issues that translate human rights principles into codes of professional responsibility and practice, with accompanying mechanisms to implement and enforce these codes.

Ensure monitoring and enforcement mechanisms to guarantee the protection of HIV-related human rights, including those of people living with HIV/AIDS, their families and communities.

Cooperate through all relevant programs and agencies of the United Nations system, including UNAIDS, to share knowledge and experience concerning HIV-related human rights issues and ensure effective mechanisms to protect human rights in the context of HIV/AIDS at international level.