Accessing ARVs to Prevent HIV Transmission

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Tara is a newly enrolled mother in GWED-G’s program. On March 10th of this year, she gave birth to a pair of adorable twin girls. She now has five children, all of them HIV negative.

Tara first tested positive for HIV on October 19th, 2017 when she came to the hospital for an antenatal appointment. She broke down crying when she got her diagnosis, but soon received counseling and is now on ARVs. Luckily, she hasn’t faced problems accessing her ARVs, and hasn’t experienced much stigma from her community based on her HIV status. Tara says that her husband knew he was HIV positive but didn’t tell her before he gave her the virus. She is not sure where he contracted it; he was previously married and divorced, but she also says that he is a womanizer and could have gotten it from any number of women. Now, he is on ARVs as well.

Tara’s biggest problem at the moment is her lack of milk. After digging in the fields all day and searching for food, she has little breast milk to feed her two and a half month old twins. They are underweight and constantly cry from hunger. She doesn’t have any support from the rest of her family; her father has passed away, and her mother is very old. She has two sisters and one brother, but they are all divorced and struggle to take care of their own children.

Looking forward, Tara hopes that GWED-G will be able to help her raise her children. Her husband is of little help with supporting the family, and as the children grow, obtaining healthcare, food, and education for them will become increasingly difficult. She is grateful for the opportunity to be part of the program.