Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
Dec 6 2007
Armenia Aids Threat Growing
A mobile population, drug use and low levels of public awareness feed
HIV infection rates.
By Lilit Harutiunian in Yerevan (CRS No. 422 06-Dec-07)
Varduhi found out she was HIV-positive in 2000, but since the subject
is rarely if ever discussed in Armenia, only her closest relatives
know.
Varduhi (not her real name), now 32, contracted HIV through sexual
intercourse with her husband, who had been infected by a shared
needle.
`We were living in Russia,’ recalled Varduhi. `My husband was an
intravenous drug user. He was infected, and without knowing about it
passed it on to me.’
Their child is not HIV-positive.
Increasing numbers of people in Armenia are acquiring HIV, which can
lead to AIDS. Experts attribute the rise to substantial population
movement to and from Russia, where many Armenians go to work as
labour migrants. A secondary factor in the spread of HIV is the low
level of public awareness about prevention and treatment.
Varduhi, who is a housewife, does not look ill and the only sign she
has HIV is the course of medication she takes on a rigid schedule.
`Some people are ignorant about how HIV can be transmitted, but they
know it’s an infectious disease that can’t be cured,’ she said.
`That’s why when I tell them I am infected, they get scared and take
care that we don’t meet ever again after that. Many people are well
aware of the means of transmission, but once they learn that [I am
HIV-positive], they begin to avoid me.
`I want to tell my story openly to warn people that they should be
more careful; to make them understand that HIV can happen not just to
a drug-user or a prostitute, but to an ordinary housewife like me as
well.’
Armenia’s first case of HIV-infection was recorded in 1988. Since
then, 528 people have been diagnosed with the condition, 99 of them
this year, a record compared with previous years.
Samvel Grigorian, director of Armenia’s Republican Centre for AIDS
Prevention, said the figures should not be regarded as a sign of an
epidemic. He said the rise in recorded cases was attributable to
better diagnostic testing in Armenia, to the greater availability of
HIV tests and centres where they can be carried out, and to increased
public awareness about the virus.
`Over the past three years, the incidence of HIV among the most
vulnerable population groups has gone down or remained stable,’ he
said.
However, specialists estimate that there are around 3,000
HIV-positive people in Armenia who have never been tested for the
infection and are unaware they have it.
The population as a whole remains very poorly informed about the
issue of HIV/AIDS, and people who are HIV-positive are never seen or
heard on television and radio.
In most Armenian families, parents prefer not to talk to their
children about the issue. Schools have no specialist literature at
their disposal and do not include discussion of HIV and AIDS in the
curriculum. Only a handful of public organisations are vocal about
it, but they work on a small scale and most young people are too
ignorant and shy to discuss it.
Ara Babloyan, the head of the Armenian parliament’s commission on
health, environment and social issues, told IWPR that a programme is
being drafted for the schools which will deal with health issues,
with special attention to sexual health. But he could not put a date
on when the programme would be launched.
The most frequent recorded methods of HIV transmission are
intravenous drug use and heterosexual intercourse, which account for
around 49 and around 45 per cent of all cases, respectively. Just
under half of the cases are in the capital Yerevan. Almost
three-quarters of HIV-positive people are in the 20-29 age-group.
All those who have contracted the virus from shared syringes are
male.
Rafael Ohanian, another member of the Republican Centre for AIDS
Prevention, said cases of HIV acquired as a result of having multiple
sexual partners were increasingly prevalent.
A public organization named Real World, Real People has brought
together HIV-positive people and provides them with social and
psychological support as well as legal assistance.
The group’s co-chairman, Hovhannes Madoyan, said migration was the
major original cause of HIV in Armenia.
`The main importers of HIV into Armenia are men who’ve gone to work
in Russia and Ukraine,’ said Madoyan. `When they return home, they
infect their wives. Of the 99 people recorded this year as carrying
HIV, 57 got infected in Russia and Ukraine, and a further ten were
their wives.’
Elmira Bakhshinian, another specialist on HIV, says that within
Armenia, deep-set prejudices and misconceptions make it easier for
the virus to spread unchecked.
`Today there are a great many HIV-sufferers who got infected because
they knew nothing about the ways the disease is transmitted. They
thought it was a problem belonging to Africa or some other countries,
and were sure it posed no danger whatsoever to themselves,’ said
Bakhshinian. `As for our women – in most cases they get infected
because they don’t have the right to tell their husbands to behave
properly.’
Armen (not his real name) is 38 years old. A former drug addict, he
got the infection through needle-sharing and passed it on unwittingly
to his wife.
`I learned that I had HIV in 2004,’ he said. `I am sure HIV is now
spreading very rapidly in Armenia. The figures seem modest, but for a
country with a small population they are quite high. I wish they
would talk more about the problem to make young people take more
precautions. It’s very important to me, as I have a teenage
daughter.’
Armen says even the medical profession is prejudiced.
`The way doctors treat us makes us keep silent about our status,’
said Armen. `For example, when I went to the dentist, I used to tell
them I was HIV-positive, but then they refused to treat me. Now I
know better and I only tell them I have hepatitis-C and that they
should sterilise their instruments thoroughly. Hepatitis is also
incurable, but I mention it instead because it doesn’t lead to the
same kind of discrimination.’
Armen’s close friends and relatives know about his condition, but
with others he is discreet, worrying that he will never find a job
and that his family will face harassment if people find out.
`One of my friends died of the disease,’ he said. `His neighbours
found out about it from a doctor who’d treated him, and began
shunning his family members, avoiding him in the street or not saying
hello. His family was forced to sell their flat and move to another
area.’
Lilit Harutiunian is a correspondent with the Armenian service of
Radio Liberty.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
