BREAKTHROUGHS AND CHANGING ATTITUDES MEAN BETTER LIFE FOR PEOPLE WITH HIV
▶ Fifty years after the first recorded death from the disease, three Emiratis tell Nick Webster how treatment and acceptance transformed their lives
Three Emiratis with HIV have spoken of how medical breakthroughs and shifting attitudes have changed their lives for the better. As World Aids Day was marked on Sunday, the three men spoke of living with the virus in the 21st century and their optimism about the future.
Many patients who test positive for HIV are living healthily in the Emirates thanks to the improving quality of care.
But despite that, United Nations figures show the Middle East and North Africa is one of the few regions where HIV is increasing, with 20,000 new cases reported last year.
Medical developments allow those with the virus, such as Bu Mohammed, 40, to lead a normal life.
He married and became a parent without passing on HIV to his wife or child.
“It was a shock for my family when I told them,” he said.
He also took the decision to tell work colleagues and his manager.
“With the help of the doctor and my boss, I researched the disease,” he said.
“I had some weird reactions at work, but it did not bother me. My colleagues accept me now, and I am comfortable with them.”
His exposure to HIV came from steroid use – injecting himself with the same hypodermic needle used by a gym buddy.
A keen sportsman, Mr Mohammed was diagnosed during an athletic performance test.
He now receives long-term treatment at Khalifa Hospital in Abu Dhabi.
A daily dose of Genvoya stops the virus from attacking his body’s immune cells.
These cells are crucial to fighting infection, and once destroyed, the slightest infection can be fatal.
Antiretroviral medicine not only suppresses HIV to improve life expectancy, but also prevents its transmission.
Mr Mohammed hopes attitudes to the virus will change.
“In general, UAE people are accepting of the disease, but there is a small category that does not accept it,” he said.
“My health is excellent and my immune system is normal.
“HIV is rated as a chronic disease and not a dangerous disease, so I have become very optimistic.”
One of the biggest hurdles facing health authorities is the effective recording of HIV data.
Adnan is another Emirati with the virus.
He contracted HIV from a sexual assault and has been treated in Dubai since his diagnosis at Rashid Hospital.
Adnan faced some hostility, then acceptance, when telling his family and friends he is HIV positive.
“I am fortunate to have a very strong support system in my family and friends, even though some of my relationships were fractured,” he said.
“I was not able to obtain any information about access to treatment online.
“Articles that I found did not address access to treatment, but rather instilled a sense of fear that compelled me to travel abroad to seek treatment.”
He was referred to a specialist at a UAE hospital who was well informed about the condition and treatment.
He said access to a counsellor or psychologist, which the government provides, is crucial.
“The doctor who greeted me was very understanding and gave my mother and me a sense of reassurance everything was going to be all right,” said Adnan, who will be on antiretroviral medicine for life, paid for by his health insurance.
“There is more understanding of HIV now in the government, but not in society,” he said.
“There needs to be a dialogue on a public platform about the subject so people are no longer living in fear of being diagnosed positive, stigmatised or quarantined, which is not the case any more.
“Mental health [support] is of the utmost importance as it can save them falling into the dark cycle of addiction and reckless behaviour that got me to where I am today.”
Since 2010, Aids-related deaths have fallen globally by 33 per cent, to 770,000 last year.
Deaths are in decline because of better access to treatment, but there are exceptions.
In eastern Europe and central Asia, Aids-related deaths have risen by 5 per cent and in Mena by 9 per cent since 2010.
In the UAE, the health ministry said treatment is fully funded for those with the virus, and it is working towards having zero new cases and zero deaths.
“The Ministry of Health and Prevention is supporting universal health access to all preventive, clinical and management services for people living with HIV or Aids,” a spokesman said.
“Provision is made for counselling for the patients and their families.
“The UAE is among the countries of low prevalence and the National HIV/Aids Prevention Programme is working to reach the global targets of zero cases and zero deaths from HIV/Aids.”
Another Emirati living with HIV is Tarek, who contracted the virus through a sexual relationship.
He was referred to Dubai
Hospital to begin his treatment.
“The shock affected me greatly,” he said. “I felt depressed, sad, and isolated from everyone.
“In our culture, we have not been educated enough about HIV and Aids.
“Some people do not accept those like me who are infected, but they do not understand the virus.
“They express fear and worry that it is contagious, but medicine is so developed now.”
For HIV carriers such as Bu, Adnan and Tarek, there is hope that a cure may be found.
In March, an HIV-positive man in Britain became the second adult to be cleared of Aids after a bone-marrow transplant.
It has given hope to the 37 million or so people living with HIV today.
“I have been hurt by my friends to whom I confided my hardship and then stayed away from me,” said Tarek, whose father disowned him because of concerns over the virus.
“I wish a final cure would be available and the virus wiped out. If I could go back, I would not make the mistake I did.”
Treatment for people with HIV/Aids, including counselling, is fully funded by the Ministry of Health and Prevention