Donkey carts often serve as an ambulance in Nata.JPG
Originally uploaded by natavillage.
As we try to educate people about the HIV/AIDS crisis in Nata, it is often difficult to give you an accurate picture without infringing on the rights of the individuals that we serve. All of the sick people that we photograph give us permission. It is often difficult to ask and sometimes impossible for us to even consider. Today was one of those days that I didn't even consider asking. Two brothers brought in their sick sister by donkey cart. It was lunchtime and the nurses were in their houses. I often hang around at lunch as it is a quiet time to work. When I went into the ward there was a man as thin as a skeleton hooked to an IV and we placed the girl in the bed beside him. She was barefoot, quite dirty and nearly incoherent. She was about 21 years old and my first impression was that she was developmentally disabled. I went to get the nurse so she could be looked at. It turns out that the girl had full blown AIDS and had stopped taking the ARV's four months ago. I asked the nurse if she had a mental disorder and she said that those were neurological symptoms as a result of stopping the medication. She was of normal intelligence and had no handicaps. It is inconceivable to me that people will risk their lives by stopping treatment. But, unfortunately it is a common occurrence. As people begin to feel better after starting the ARV's they feel they have been cured and stop the treatment. All patients who start ARV's are given adherence counseling but sometimes the information is not taken seriously. The only hope this girl has is to go on the second line treatment as she has become resistant to her initial set of medications. She probably won't make it. Death is around us again. Five people died over the past four days. That's some of the stuff we can't show you.
Donkey carts often serve as an ambulance in Nata.JPG
Originally uploaded by natavillage.
As we try to educate people about the HIV/AIDS crisis in Nata, it is often difficult to give you an accurate picture without infringing on the rights of the individuals that we serve. All of the sick people that we photograph give us permission. It is often difficult to ask and sometimes impossible for us to even consider. Today was one of those days that I didn't even consider asking. Two brothers brought in their sick sister by donkey cart. It was lunchtime and the nurses were in their houses. I often hang around at lunch as it is a quiet time to work. When I went into the ward there was a man as thin as a skeleton hooked to an IV and we placed the girl in the bed beside him. She was barefoot, quite dirty and nearly incoherent. She was about 21 years old and my first impression was that she was developmentally disabled. I went to get the nurse so she could be looked at. It turns out that the girl had full blown AIDS and had stopped taking the ARV's four months ago. I asked the nurse if she had a mental disorder and she said that those were neurological symptoms as a result of stopping the medication. She was of normal intelligence and had no handicaps. It is inconceivable to me that people will risk their lives by stopping treatment. But, unfortunately it is a common occurrence. As people begin to feel better after starting the ARV's they feel they have been cured and stop the treatment. All patients who start ARV's are given adherence counseling but sometimes the information is not taken seriously. The only hope this girl has is to go on the second line treatment as she has become resistant to her initial set of medications. She probably won't make it. Death is around us again. Five people died over the past four days. That's some of the stuff we can't show you.