PHOTO Elisabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
I recently had the pleasure of hearing a Zambian woman, Martha Sichone Cameron, share her story of being HIV positive and her incredible journey including the birth of her two HIV negative boys, Josiah and Judah. She described how she had lost almost half of her family to AIDS and the pain of burying someone almost every other week. She married young and the man left her not only with a broken heart but with HIV.
In her country, Zambia, one of the hardest hit countries by the disease, more than one in seven adults are living with HIV, women and girls being some of the most vulnerable. According to a UNAIDS report, “among young women aged 15-24, HIV prevalence is more than twice that of men in this age category.” UNAIDS also reported, “In 2011, there were 330,000 new HIV infections in children, and more than 90 percent of all new cases were in sub-Sahara Africa, which is home to 92 percent of pregnant women living with HIV.”
Thankfully for Martha, she was given access to quality health care. She describes her experience for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation below and her resolve to change the access to care for women living with HIV: (read entire blog post here)
“I had never thought that I could have an HIV-negative child. But prior to getting married, my doctor surprised me, introducing me to prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) services that help mothers like me have HIV-negative babies. He also educated Andy (her husband) and me about how to keep Andy HIV-free too. This exciting revelation was the motivation I needed to begin my family. I was ecstatic, as was Andy.
After suffering a devastating miscarriage, losing our baby girl due to a cord accident, Andy and I welcomed a baby boy, Josiah, into the world in May 2009. Josiah was tested for HIV multiple times, and we were relieved to learn that he was HIV-negative.
Josiah’s HIV-negative status, and the success of the PMTCT services I was able to access, prompted me to become more involved in the AIDS community in Zambia. I was appalled at how difficult it was for women to find the services they needed to prevent the transmission of HIV to their children, and the stigma that I and other HIV-positive individuals were subjected to. It wasn’t right, and I was committed to supporting a change.
I helped my church start an HIV support group for children, women, and families affected by HIV and AIDS, and advocated for the development of a new care and treatment center for my community.
When Josiah was five months old, Andy and I made the difficult decision to move our new family to the U.S. This meant leaving my community and the job I loved. The transition would have been more difficult had we not had the incredible support of Andy’s family and church, as well as the excitement of expanding our little family. Shortly after arriving in the U.S., we got pregnant again.
Just like in Zambia, I immediately began PMTCT services, and in February 2011 we gave birth to a happy, beautiful baby boy we named Judah. Like his older brother Josiah, Judah is HIV-negative as well. Andy has also remained HIV-negative.
I’ve learned so much through my experiences as an HIV-positive pregnant woman in two countries. What strikes me most is how much harder it was for me to access the PMTCT services I needed in Zambia versus in the U.S. Every mother, regardless of where she lives, should have the opportunity to have an HIV-negative child, but so many cannot reach the services they need to do so, or don’t even know that they can.
As an HIV-positive mother of two HIV-negative babies, I feel it is my duty to educate women about stigma, HIV prevention, and the incredible gift of PMTCT services. I continue to advocate for increased access to these critical services and I look forward to the day when every HIV-positive woman in the U.S., Zambia, and every other part of the world has the knowledge, and the ability, to have an HIV-negative child.
Early this May when I originally heard Martha’s story, she said, “I was diagnosed with HIV in 2003 and I would not be here today if not for PEPFAR.” PEPFAR has made amazing progress in fighting HIV/AIDS especially in sub-Sahara Africa and especially in this area of mother-to-child transmission. In Zambia alone, PEPFAR provided “545,500 pregnant women with known HIV status receiving services and 54,400 HIV-positive pregnant women receiving antiretroviral prophylaxis for PMTCT.” (PEPFAR) Overall, since the beginning of PEPFAR, HIV infections have declined 19%. Last year alone, PEPFAR helped prevent mother-to-child transmission for 230,000 infants. (PEPFAR) Martha named her boys, Josiah and Judah. She proudly explained, “Josiah means ‘God has heard me’ and Judah means ‘My Praise’”…truly fitting names for her story of hope and healing.
PEPFAR’s accomplishments in Zambia: www.pepfar.gov/countries/zambia/
UNAIDS Report: 2012
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation: www.pedaids.org
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