Chennai: Hung from a tree in a bag, HIV kid finds hope

[Guest guest]

Hung from a tree in a bag, HIV kid finds hope

Jaya Menon

Posted online: Saturday, December 01, 2007 at 0000 hrs

CHENNAI, NOVEMBER 30: As the world observes another AIDS Day, the

story of a child from the remote Perur hamlet in Tamil Nadu shows

that the battle to create awareness and empathy about the disease has

a long way to go. The boy had been crammed into a cloth bag and hung

from a tree near the banks of the River Kaveripattinam in Krishnagiri

district and left to die — by his father, say those involved in the

case. The child was HIV positive.

Villagers found the child and put him under the care of doctors. His

maternal grandmother Kanchana has come forward to accept him and is

now taking care of him.

Witnesses and local officials told The Indian Express that on

November 7, villagers of Kaveripattinam heard a feeble cry which led

them, through thorny bushes, to find a child stuffed inside a

shopping bag hung from a tree. They informed Dr Hari Ram of the local

Community Health Centre, who reached the spot with a constable and a

nurse.

" The child's condition was pathetic. He looked emaciated, so weak,

his limbs were so thin. We thought at first he was a six-month-old

baby. He was obviously undernourished and there were sores on his

body and face, " said Ram. " We named him Siva and placed his age at

one year. " (Later, it turned out the child was actually three years

old.)

After intensive life-support treatment, Ram handed over the child to

Anand Ashram, a nodal agency for adoptions. But on November 12, the

Ashram called him to say it was returning the child as he was HIV

positive. Ram says he made frantic calls to several NGOs working in

the HIV/AIDS field but none responded. Finally, his friend Vel

Murugan contacted M Raja, the founder-president of the HIV Positive

Society of Dharmapuri district, who had the child admitted to the

government hospital there the same night.

Raja said the baby was diagnosed with tuberculosis — often associated

with HIV infection — and was curled up so that his legs were almost

around his neck.

" It was the most inhuman thing that anyone could do to such a child, "

he said.

Meanwhile, on Ram's complaint, police searched HIV positive couples

who might have dumped their child. But their search was confined to

Krishnagiri district and yielded no results. On November 14, however,

41-year-old Kanchana, living in faraway Perur, near Coimbatore, saw

the picture of the child in a Tamil newspaper and recognised it for

her grandchild.

She rushed to Dharmapuri, but Raja and baby's other caregivers were

not ready to believe her initially.

After listening to her story, and going through official verification

procedures, the authorities of the two districts were however

convinced that Kanchana is the grandmother. The child is now with

her.

Kanchana told The Indian Express the child was born to her younger

daughter Yogambal and her husband Mani three years ago. Yogambal died

40 days after he was born, and Mani remarried.

Kanchana and her elder daughter looked after Yogambal's three

children, including the youngest. Two years back, the two elder boys

were handed over to Mani's father.

" About 10 months ago, when I had gone to Erode to attend a wedding,

my elder daughter handed over the youngest child to his father Mani,

who hails from Tirupur. When I came back, my daughter told me Mani

had insisted on taking the child away. I suspect this was because he

was worried I will demand a share in his family's wealth using the

child as a pretext, " said Kanchana. " But when he found the child

sick, he must have neglected him and then decided to get rid of

him. " " He was quite well with me. He is fine now, " she says, trying

to shush him. " See, he's crying now and calling me awwa (grandmother

in Telugu, their language). "

Said Raja, " In Tamil Nadu HIV positive children are virtually

tumbling out on to the streets. No one wants them, no one wants to

adopt them. "

http://www.indianexpress.com/story/245534.html

[Guest guest]

Dear FORUM,

Re: /message/8152

This is really terrible especially when there are so many resources available

and made easy to access.

Step 1. The fact that the mother died soon after the birth of the child means

that she must have been in early AIDS stage when she delivered. If at all the

couple had been in touch for any of their medical complaint then there was a

chance that they might have been tested and linked to care and support services.

Step 2. The parents should try to take precautions to prevent an infected child

being born through the PPTCT program which is available at almost all districts

in Tamilnadu where good counseling and ART are provided. PLHA parents must

exercise their right to provide a safe delivery and exercise their child rights

by attempting to make the child born as negative.

Step 3. If the couple had gone to the PPTCT center then a follow up of home care

would have helped in assisting the family on positive living, disclosure and

other supports including nutrition and economic.

Step 4. If family was prepared then the child would have been accepted and the

child need not have faced such discrimination. PLHA network must address this

issue of self stigma which is high among PLHA families. There must be IEC saying

what to do and not to do when tested HIV positive

Step 5. It has become mandatory for all adoption agencies to test orphans as

they process the baby for adoption. Instead the adoption agency can have 2

different ways to follow:

A] The adoption agency can counsel the adoptive parents and find if there is a

need for HIV testing from families. If an adoptive parents request then there is

a different need for the HIV test

B] There must be a testing guideline exclusive for adoption agency where only

the key person in charge has the right to know the HIV status of every child.

Plus this person must be able to provide care and support either directly or

through linkages. They have no right to send a child just because they can’t do

an adoption. They should have contacted the district child welfare committee who

might have been able to help them. It is also time that we start working on

adoption of HIV infected children and few parents are willing and this will be

on par with adoption of children with disability. Every child has a right to a

home.

Step 6. TANSAC, social welfare and social defence departments must sit together

and develop these testing guidelines on testing and handling HIV positive

orphans. Many orphans have been tested HIV positive through Eliza and a repeat

screening proves that it was the circulating maternal antibody that had given a

false positive result.

Such children are dumped as HIV positive orphans. Hence orphanages must be

linked to free PCR test to identify and link HIV positive infants to OI

prophylaxis and ART services early and not wait till child develops AIDS.

Step 7. All orphanages and adoption agencies need to be trained on care of AIDS

orphans. The caregivers must get in to the practice of universal precautions

Step 8. If the adoption agency has no clear guideline as how to handle a HIV

positive baby either directly or through linkages then they have no right to

test the child. It should be the chief functionary who should request for a HIV

test, and the test must be linked to ICTC where the counselors must find out

what will the institute do if the child tests positive. May such centers can

also inform the local DMO and collector about such children and this must be

discussed during district meet.

Step 9. If needed such children can be linked to care and support NGOs, orphan

care NGOs for HIV positive children [ there are 4 in Tamilnadu who have a

community care center exclusively for such children and supported by TANSAC], or

extended foster families, community based care.

Step 10. Stigma and discrimination has been dealt only in a broad sense but

needs a strategic change to individual situations especially women and children.

Dr.Manorama;MD;DCH;DM[GASTRO];

PRESIDENT AND PROJECT DIRECTOR CHES

198,RANGARAJAPURAM MAIN ROAD,

KODAMBAKKAM, CHENNAI 600 024

TEL: Office : 24731283 - 24726655

MOBILE: 9444077177

EMAIL: ches_cheschennai@...

pmanorama@...

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends,

Good to know the several steps for averting such incident in future.

My simple question is that what is our NEXT STEP in preventing such

incidence in the future?

What is the strategy of SACS and NGOs/CBOs?

When aged grand mother is reaching the site to take back the child,

the illiterate and innocent are teaching lessons for the learned ones.

My sincere thanks for the Grandma for accepting the child, the few

people who admitted the child in the hospital, who are acting like a

good samaritans.

Let all work locally and learn from the illiterate/innocent/poor.

We need people in action not in words, more than words deeds are

powerful.

Reddy

e-mail: <reddy2msm@...>