(ERGO) – People living with HIV/AIDS in Somaliland have been facing stigma and painful discrimination affecting every aspect of their lives and those of their children and families, despite efforts to raise awareness about the virus and how it spreads.
Amina (whose real name has been withheld to protect her) is a mother of four living with HIV/AIDS and struggling at every turn to raise them in a hostile environment.
Her children were forced to drop out of their Koranic school, after the school found out their mother was living with HIV/AIDS. She tried to move them to other schools but their applications were all refused.
Her children have been out of school since 2019.
“I have encountered a situation where people say: that woman is living with that disease and her children are studying with our children, so we should pull out our children. That is how my children came to be expelled from school,” she said.
Amina is worried about her children’s education and faces constant setbacks, threats and indignities. Last year she was evicted five times from rental houses by different landlords when they found out about her status.
This has forced her to construct a small makeshift house in Qalah IDP camp, where they have been living since last November.
“I am here is because I was displaced, you have seen how big Hargeisa city is, but we have been evicted from everywhere. I bought the land fora $2,000 and I have constructed a toilet, although we are still not safe here,” she said.
Amina told Radio Ergo she found out that she had HIV in August 2005. Her husband, who was sick with HIV/AIDS, had not told previously her about his status and he subsequently left her.
She is now part of a volunteer group attached to Somaliland National AIDS Commission, which raises awareness about HIV prevention and informs the public about misconceptions surrounding the virus.
“We are 48 trained people, who know how to speak to people and give advice to those living with the virus. We teach people how to take medication and we also arrange to test people so that they can know about their status,” she explained.
Fadumo (also not her real name) told Radio Ergo that she has been struggling to find a job and only gets one meal in a day.
This mother of six hawks children’s clothes in the streets of Hargeisa, making about $50 a month. Besides the food shortage and hardships they undergo on such meagre income, she and her children are constantly cast aside by others in society.
“I don’t get support from anywhere. I only get support from God. I am the only one who know about my children’s situation and I grapple with their needs, every day I try to make a living for them,” she said.
All her children, including the eldest daughter now age 22, tested negative for the virus. Nevertheless, they were forced to drop out of their local school three years ago because people found out about their mother’s HIV status.
Her relatives stepped in and took them to other schools in Hargeisa and Sheikh district in Sahil. Her eldest daughter is in secondary school while her two sons are in Koranic schools. Her relatives support the $215 monthly fees for the children.
Fadumo also lives in Qalah IDP camp south west of Hargeisa city. She moved there last July after being evicted from her house. She was given a piece of land by the local authorities where she constructed a small shack.
“I was living in a rental house and every day they would ask me to move out. Whenever people who know me visited me, they also faced challenges. It was getting very difficult. I would like to request the people to help me,” she said.
Surveys conducted by Somaliland National AIDS Commission (SOLNAC) in 2017 and 2020 have reported high levels of stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS.
SOLNAC’s head of awareness, Mohamed Haji Yasin, said they don’t have enough funds to support people living with the virus. They provide them with antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) and occasional food handouts.
He said additionally there is a big need for private housing and separate education centres for the children, as they face being shunned by the general population due to lack of understanding how the virus is transmitted.
“If someone gets married without doing a checkup it could lead to the virus spreading. Blood transfusion is another way the virus spreads, and the third way it spreads is through breast-feeding so a mother needs to report her status so that the children can be protected,” he advised.
The Commission has recorded 1,868 people living with HIV/AIDS in Somaliland. It is likely that many others are unaware or hide their status, fearing social discrimination.
Most people living with HIV/AIDs have been abandoned by their families and are completely impoverished, with little to no chance of building a decent life for themselves and their children.
