Until two years and one child into her marriage, Lubaba Misganaw’s life was free from worry. But then a conversation over a coffee ceremony changed everything. She heard the neighbors’ gossip about her husband’s prior involvement with commercial sex workers. The news filled her life with sadness and worry for years to come as the only HIV/AIDS information she had at the time was that “HIV/AIDS is a merciless killer that is transmitted though sex”. Lubaba is now a 26 year old mother of two and well informed about HIV/AIDS. As a coordinator of the Mother Support Group or MSG -an association of HIV positive mothers who educate the public, especially pregnant women, about HIV and ANC /PMTCT, in Tenta-Ajbar town of south wello region - she even shares her story with others. I met her while ARC’s outreach team was conducting a small group discussion to increase the MSG’s knowledge about HIV/AIDS related issues including Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT), and Antenatal care (ANC). Lubaba worked hard to ensure the event was a great success.
Lubaba was thrilled to learn about the National AIDS Resource Center’s (ARC) hotline service, a toll-free (952) professional counseling service on all HIV, STI and TB related issues. “The phone counseling service that ARC provides means a lot for people who have no one to talk to about HIV and need encouragement to get tested. Having a trained professional answer your questions and provide you with information you need privately is a great deal” said Lubaba. Looking back at her experience, information about HIV/AIDS, including where to get tested and ART medications, were out of reach when she first heard the disturbing news about her husband.
Lubaba grew up in Tenta-Ajbar town, with her farmer family where she spent the majority of her time assisting her mother with house chores. The news of her arranged marriage came as a shock for then seventeen year old Lubaba. She accepted the proposal, dropped out from the sixth grade to fulfill the role of a wife, despite the fact that she wanted to pursue her education. She did so to please her family, and without knowing her husband or his sexual history. This has made Lubaba a strong advocate for couple’s knowing each other and most importantly, testing together for HIV before marriage.
Years went by without Lubaba sharing her apprehension about the possibility of being HIV positive with anyone, including her husband. She spent most of her days in depression and contemplating whether or not to get tested for HIV by herself. “If I had known about the hot line services at ARC when I was in need of someone to talk to, it would have taken a huge burden off of me and helped me take action sooner” said Lubaba.
When she and her husband moved to Tenta town following his job relocation, Lubaba gained access to a radio which helped to raise her awareness about HIV/AIDS. Lubaba started listening to the Betengna radio diary program through the Amhara Mass Media Agency radio station. That was her first encounter with ARC’s multi-sector information outlets. Betenga’s first Amhara region diarist, Workie Birru is Lubaba’s favorite, as she relates to her life of being in an arranged marriage. “The stories of the diarists play a huge role in exposing the reality that people living with HIV are just regular people with similar life experiences. This gives an important lesson to those who think HIV is a risk faced only by certain groups of people” said Lubaba.
Through her exposure to the radio, Lubaba also learned about the availability of free ART medication. She even had a chance to see members of Tsenat Association for HIV Positive People (an association that travels around the town and teaches communities about HIV) giving public testimonials of their life stories in market places.
“I was no longer afraid to learn my HIV status because I knew that it is possible to live longer and be around for my child even if I become HIV positive” Lubaba said. She felt better knowing that there were people who shared her story and an association she could go to for help.
Lubaba gained the courage to ask her husband to get tested with her, but he refused. Before Lubaba could find time to go to the health center to get tested, her husband fell ill. This gave her the opportunity to convince her husband to get tested for HIV. They both went through the testing process together and learned they were HIV positive. Lubaba’s CD4 count showed 200 while her husband’s turned out to be 33. Lubaba also got her daughter tested and found out that her only child is also HIV positive. Although both Lubaba and her husband were put on ART it was too late for Lubara’s husband and he passed away due to HIV related illnesses. Lubaba feels that the lack of HIV/AIDS information such as the availability of ART and the possibility of positive living played a large part in her husband’s failure to get tested and try to protect his health.
Although Lubaba is now happily married to her second husband Adem, a member of Tsenat association, and they have parented an HIV free daughter by following the ANC/PMTCT program, she hasn’t forgotten the trying times she had. She is the youngest of all the mothers at the Tenta-Ajbar MSG but works the hardest by teaching others to ensure that the loss she experienced does not happen to anyone else.
Lubaba, along with her fellow members of the MSG, teaches pregnant women at health centers and in their neighborhoods about HIV, PMTCT, ANC and other related issues. They especially encourage pregnant women to get tested for HIV by explaining its benefits to them and their child. In the event that a pregnant woman turns out to be HIV positive, the group provides counseling, psychosocial support, along with positive living, and infant feeding options. The MSG also provides emotional support to HIV positive pregnant women in their status disclosure process while also facilitating the means to become financially independent through income generating activities.
The MSG appreciated learning additional information during the outreach event organized by ARC to assist them in their work. Besides answering HIV/AIDS related questions raised by the MSG, the outreach team also promoted the different HIV/AIDS related services at ARC available to MSG and the general public, to increase their utilization. “The HIV/AIDS information that ARC provides through different mediums is crucial. It has given me hope and motivation in my personal life through its Betengna radio diaries program and access to scientifically accurate information which has helped me in my professional life. I will continue to use all of ARC’s services in the future in my effort to save lives” says Lubaba.
The ARC is committed to facilitating access to life saving information to all Ethiopians through different outlets despite some challenges including accessing remote areas, inability to accommodate the high call volume it receives and lack of radio satellite coverage in some areas. However, ARC will continue to strive to go beyond these limitations to give hope to those living with HIV, empower many with information as well as to better equip professionals in the field by any means at its disposal.
