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Tag: AIDS

  • Ustaz Noor Deros: There Is No Progress Without Control Of Basic Human Desire

    Ustaz Noor Deros: There Is No Progress Without Control Of Basic Human Desire

    Have we progressed far enough as humanity so as to again declare that fornication (what more homosexual intercourse) is illegal?

    It seems that we are still unable to let go of our primitive inclination towards self-destructive short termed pleasures and short-sighted justifications.

    Not declaring your HIV status to your current or to-be wife or husband is a crime in Islam, what more infecting them with it, this goes without saying.

    The central issue at hand here is the modern crisis of fornication that is based on the false idea that this body is our sole property and we have all the right to do whatever we want with it.

    How can we lay claim to something we did not create ourselves, something we can never buy nor given to us (as our property) by the Creator?

    In Islam, this body is a loan from Him, for us to make a good use out of it, and later to be returned back to Him.

    Sexual pleasures through heterosexual intercourse can only come with the pledge of commitment to an endless/long term physical, emotional and spiritual relationship.

    We can never claim to have progressed if we are still unable to control this basic human desire.

     

    Source: Noor Deros

  • Ban On Entry To Singapore For Foreigners With HIV Eased

    Ban On Entry To Singapore For Foreigners With HIV Eased

    For more than two decades, foreigners infected with HIV have not been allowed to set foot in Singapore. However, the ban on those entering on short-term visit passes was lifted on April 1, The Straits Times has found out.

    The ban remains for long-term visitors, such as those looking to work in Singapore or those who want to accompany a child studying here, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed.

    “The policy on the repatriation and permanent blacklisting of HIV-positive foreigners was recommended in the late 1980s when the disease was new, fatal and no effective treatment was available,” a spokesman said.

    But the ban was lifted “given the current context with more than 5,000 Singapore residents living with HIV and the availability of effective treatment for the disease”.

    The human immunodeficiency virus causes Aids, or acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

    The Straits Times understands that foreigners here – excluding permanent residents or spouses of Singaporeans – found to be HIV- positive will be deported and put on a permanent blacklist.

    The MOH spokesman added: “Lifting the short-term travel restrictions… poses very low additional risk of HIV transmission to the local population.

    “However, the public health risk posed by long-stayers is not insignificant, hence the restriction on long-term visits has been retained.”

    The rule is similar to immigration laws found in countries such as Australia and New Zealand, he added.

    HIV attacks the body’s immune system and is transmitted mainly through sexual intercourse, although it can spread in other ways, such as by sharing contaminated needles.

    A spokesman for advocacy group Action for Aids said it welcomed the change, but restrictions should also be lifted for long-term visitors.

    “People living with HIV or Aids are not criminals and should not be banned from entering the country,” he said. “(They) can and should be able to have fulfilling and rewarding lives, with loving relationships and be integrated as part of the community. Unfortunately, discrimination is still prevalent.”

    Professor Roy Chan, who is on the governing council of the International Aids Society and is also the president of Action for Aids, added: “People living with HIV infection who are on antiretroviral therapy and are successfully virally suppressed are not infectious to other people.”

    Antiretroviral therapy can reduce the virus to undetectable levels in the blood, enabling the immune system to recover and function almost normally.

    A 56-year-old who is HIV-positive and declined to give his name said: “Some of my friends who are HIV-positive are worried about how to pack their medication and if they will be barred when they travel. We hope to be allowed into other countries, so we would want to accord the same treatment for people who enter our country.”

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • Singaporean Man Living With HIV

    Singaporean Man Living With HIV

    It had started with a fever, rashes, then fatigue. When the symptoms persisted for weeks, alarm bells went off for Daniel.

    The 28-year-old homosexual man got himself tested for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The results were positive.

    “Although I had previously gone for regular HIV testing at anonymous test sites, the diagnosis came as a shock because I was in a monogamous relationship at that time and I thought the risk was low,” said Daniel.

    Fortunately for him, timely diagnosis and treatment have helped him keep his condition under control. Currently working as a senior executive in the public sector, Daniel is able to live a normal life. Besides his day job, he also juggles part-time degree studies and volunteer work.

    THE NUMBERS IN SINGAPORE

    Not everyone learns about his or her HIV status early enough. There were 155 new cases of HIV infection among Singapore residents in the first six months of this year, showed the latest figures from the Ministry of Health. Nearly half (49 per cent) had late-stage HIV infection when they were diagnosed — an increase from 41 per cent last year. Currently, about 0.1 per cent of the population in Singapore is living with HIV.

    Dr David Lye, senior consultant at the Institute of Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), said people with a late-stage HIV diagnosis face a higher risk of death, even if they receive treatment as soon as possible.

    The virus, which is spread mainly via sexual transmission in Singapore, wreaks havoc on the immune system. It may eventually cause infections, cancer, memory loss as well as heart, liver and kidney diseases.

    The two biggest groups at risk here are heterosexual men who engage in casual or commercial sex, and men who have sex with men.

    SEEK TREATMENT EARLY

    A person with HIV is said to have Aids (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) when his CD4 (a type of white blood cell) count is less than 200, said Dr Lye. This increases his risk of infections and death.

    On the other hand, people who detect their condition soon after the infection and start on HIV medication immediately can expect to have a normal life span. “Detecting HIV as early as possible and starting treatment early can preserve the person’s immune system. Adherence to treatment and medical follow-up ensures a healthy long life,” said Dr Lye.

    TTSH sees 70 per cent of HIV patients in Singapore. More than 95 per cent of patients on HIV medication are doing well, said Dr Lye. Stigma and misconceptions about the disease prevent at-risk groups from testing and seeking treatment early.

    Dr Lye shared that even with a HIV diagnosis, some patients do not seek treatment because they think they will not be able to afford HIV medication.

    “Medisave can help cover the costs of medication. For patients with limited resources, Medifund can provide coverage too,” said Dr Lye.

    People with HIV can use up to S$550 per month from their Medisave to pay for their HIV medication. The cost of medication can range from S$300 to more than S$800, depending on the individual’s condition, said Ms Lin Jingyi, a medical social worker at the Department of Care and Counselling at TTSH.

    Since September, anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs for HIV treatment have been subsidised for lower- to middle-income patients receiving treatment at public hospitals and institutions, as long as the drugs have been assessed to be clinically necessary and appropriate for treatment.

    MISCONCEPTIONS AND SOCIAL STIGMA

    A common misconception is that HIV is a death sentence or that treatment will fail after several years. That is not true if the patient takes his medication on time daily without skipping doses, said Dr Lye. These misconceptions, coupled with the immense social stigma of the disease, often cause newly diagnosed patients to bear the burden of the disease without adequate support.

    Ms Lin said HIV patients tend to live in secrecy because of the fear of stigma and discrimination. “Often, family members may have misconceptions, concerns and fears about HIV and its spread,” she said.

    Faced with family rejection, Daniel left home and, for over a year, struggled to come to terms with his illness, the side effects from the medication and dwindling finances without the support of his loved ones. He broke up with his partner shortly after the diagnosis.

    Thankfully, he had the support of his close friends, employer and colleagues. He also joined the HIV Orientation Programme and AGAPE Support group at TTSH, where he befriended people with HIV and learned to cope with the condition.

    At TTSH, every newly diagnosed HIV patient is referred to a medical social worker, who also counsels and educates family members about the condition.

    “Engagement of the patient’s family is important because family support can be a key determinant of how a patient would cope,” said Ms Lin.

    Today, Daniel is a peer mentor at the TTSH HIV Orientation Programme, where he motivates newly diagnosed HIV patients. His family has accepted his condition and asked him to move back to live with them.

    “The journey might be hard at first, but it will get better. There will always be a light for you in dark times, even when all the other lights go out,” he said.

     

    Source: http://www.todayonline.com

  • How HIV May Spread Over The Next 15 Years

    How HIV May Spread Over The Next 15 Years

    In 2013, about 35 million people lived with HIV worldwide, a number that is comparable with the population of Canada. Due to better treatment methods, the number of deaths caused by AIDS-related illnesses is on the decline, along with the number of new infections. The recent success is fragile, however.

    UNAIDS, the United Nations program dedicated to the fight against HIV, recently warned that new infections could rise again if HIV prevention and treatment approaches remained at 2013 levels. The map above shows which regions and groups of people could be particularly threatened in low- and middle-income countries by 2030 in that case.

    According to the scenario, the majority of new infections may be in Africa, where heterosexuals would account for the biggest group of those newly affected, followed be female sex workers, their clients, as well as children. In Asia, homosexuals, female sex workers and their clients, as well as heterosexuals are expected to be equally threatened by AIDS in total numbers. The Middle East and South America would follow with much lower numbers of newly infected people.

    Between 1990 and 2013, the number of people living with HIV increased especially in the Southern Hemisphere as well as some European countries. UNAIDS estimates that more than 39 million people have died of AIDS-related illnesses since the start of the epidemic, most of them in low- and middle-income countries.

    On World AIDS Day, marked this Monday, UNICEF, the United Nations’ agency for children, also warned that while there has been a drop in AIDS-related deaths between 2005 and 2013, one core demographic has not seen such a decline: those ages 10 to 19. HIV was the second-leading cause of death among adolescents worldwide in 2012, according to the WHO.

    More optimistic observers believe the HIV epidemic will sharply decline over the next decades. A new report by the advocacy group One, which was released Monday, declared that for the first time in 30 years, the world had reached a “tipping point” in the fight against HIV.

    “We’re not saying the end of Aids is near but we have reached an important milestone where, for the first time, we are getting ahead of the disease,” Erin Hohlfelder, health policy director for One, was quoted as saying by theFinancial Times. The report was released Monday to mark World Aids Day.

    According to the group, fewer people became infected with HIV — the human immunodeficiency virus, which leads to AIDS — than gained access to drugs against the virus in 2013. About 2.3 million people gained access to HIV treatment programs last year, compared with 2.1 million new infections. The group also said that antiretroviral drugs, which are used to fight the virus, are now available to 13.6 million people worldwide.


    Data: UNAIDS and ONE advocacy group. Visualization: Rick Noack/ The Washington Post.

    Currently, HIV is roughly 28 times as common among people who inject drugs and 19 times as common among men who have sex with men, compared with the average. Sex workers are 12 times as likely to be infected by the virus.

    To protect those who are most marginalized by the virus, three goals need to be achieved, according to the group One: First, funds to fight the disease need to be increased to address a shortfall of $3 billion a year.

    Second, stigmatized groups with limited access to treatment need to be reached. And third, the international community should be aware that current promising developments will not necessarily be a tipping point for all countries and that some nations and regions will continue to need more support than others.

    If all those goals were to be achieved, the prevalence of HIV could look more like this by 2030, according to the United Nations:


    Source: UNAIDS

    Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com

  • The Struggles Of a HIV Positive Mother

    The Struggles Of a HIV Positive Mother

    KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 2 — A mother of four was forced to choose between HIV medication and her children.

    Norlela Mokhtar, 50, was diagnosed 14 years ago as being HIV positive and three years later, she was in dire need of medication but medical care for HIV patients was not free.

    “It cost about RM1,000 a month and I did not have that kind of money because I was working as a clerk at that time,” she said.

    “I had to choose between myself and my children.

    “I had to choose between paying for my medication or to feed my children.”

    She avoided doctor’s visits and check-ups to avoid being asked to take the medication.

    “In 2005, I had tuberculosis and I had no choice when I was admitted,” she said.

    “Prof Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman (Malaysian AIDS Council exco member) started me on the anti-retroviral treatment, even though it was not free at that time.”

    It was then that she regained her health, along with her weight.

    “I was a skeleton of about 50kg as I lost so much weight. I was only 30kg at that time,” she said.

    Norlela was advised by a friend of hers to get tested because her former husband was an intravenous drug user (IDU).

    She believes she contracted the disease from him.

    “In that year of being diagnosed, I had no support,” she said

    “At that time, whatever they said did not have any impact on me because I was thinking about my four children, who were between two and 10 years old.”

    She went on with life without acknowledging the disease but remained a strong front for her children.

    “I made sure I was strong in front of them,” she said.

    Norlela recalled the discrimination she faced, from both family and friends, but she has no regrets.

    “My youngest child was taken away from me by my stepmother for fear I would infect my children,” she said.

    “In the office, they didn’t let me go to the canteen or use the items in the pantry.

    “However, I am not angry with them because they didn’t know how a person was infected.”

    An advocate for those like her, Norlela formed Persatuan Wahidayah Malaysia (Pewahim) and the Rumah Wahidayah, a shelter for women and children living with HIV/AIDS.

    She believes building a “zero discrimination” nation towards those infected with HIV/AIDS was the first step towards building a HIV/AIDS free nation.

    “People are not able to get married, get a proper education or even get loans just because they are infected by HIV or AIDS. This needs to stop,” she said.

    “People should also be educated, instead of taking HIV tests only when required.”

     

    Source: http://www.themalaymailonline.com