‘Hospital leaked out my HIV test results’

Asha Swaleh (not her real name) did not know her HIV status when she was pregnant.

She attended her clinic at the Pumwani Dispensary in Tana River County as usual, at times accompanied by her husband.

In an interview, she said she was not told of any medical complications. However, on the day she was due, they ran blood tests on her and found out she was HIV-positive but did not share with her the test results immediately.

“That day I was admitted, I noticed the nurse in the hospital was a bit reluctant to attend to me. She asked another nurse to do it,” she recounted.

Asha had a safe delivery but was later told she could not breastfeed the baby.  But she was not told about her HIV status.

Two days later, the nurse who attended to her called her to the chambers and informed her of her HIV status.

“I didn’t know how I was going to explain this to my people. I was married a virgin. I had never had sex with any other person except my husband. He could attest to it that he married me a virgin,” she said. 
She left the hospital with her baby and went back to her mother-in-law, who, unlike her nature, started to treat her strangely.

Asha had not shared any news with her, but somehow she felt she knew of her HIV status.

“My husband was not around when I came home as he had travelled. My mother-in-law, with whom we used to share the kitchen, suddenly gave me some utensils and asked me to cook in my house and even take a bath in my personal space,” she narrated.

She was waiting for her husband to return so that they could discuss the shocking news. Deep inside, she was broken and depressed.

The day the husband returned, she was attending a clinic session with the child. Suddenly the husband showed up at the dispensary and dragged her into the consultation room for a HIV test.

“He tested negative while I was confirmed positive. My baby was HIV-negative too. I wanted to die. Nobody would believe that I have been faithful in this union,” she said.

Soon after they left the hospital, the husband broke the news to his mother about their status.

Separation

He wanted to keep the marriage going but his mother would hear none of that.

The mother-in-law asked her to pack and leave, and they asked her to leave the baby behind. But she fought back and left with the baby.

“It has not been easy since then. I suffered a lot of stigma and had to seek counselling. I have been with this organisation that has been of help and that has kept me alive to this day,” she said.

Asha is sure that the nurse who had earlier refused to attend to her on the date of her delivery disclosed her HIV status to her mother-in-law as she was the first to carry out the blood test and also happens to be relatives with the mother-in-law.

She is in the process of seeking legal redress against the officers working at the dispensary at that time.

And Dan Kahindi (not his real name), another victim, reveals that his status became the talk of town two days after he had been informed of his status.

According to Dan, someone at the Hola Referral Hospital privy to his status leaked his status to his circle of friends.

“I learnt about the rumours spreading while I was at a joint. An attendant I had a scuffle with suddenly told me she was aware of my status,” he said.

Over time, he has come to learn that most victims have been affected by the lack of confidentiality by the local health centres.

As a result, many people prefer going outside the county for tests or buying self-test kits.

“How can people trust such institutions if they can’t be confidential with our status? It is sad and very worrying.  No one can go to such places for tests or even drugs,” Dan posed.

The victims are appealing to the authorities to investigate complaints that have been raised and restore confidentiality in the sector.

However, Tana River Health Executive Javan Bonaya said that no official complaint has been made to the hospital by the victims.

However, he reiterates that he will make inquiries and conduct investigations on the matter, urging the affected victims to boldly forward complaints to aid the exercise.

“If there is anything like that going on, then it is very unfortunate and needs to be dealt with accordingly, those who are affected can be of great help to the investigation,” he said.

The Kenya HIV Testing Services Guidelines stipulate how and when a person’s HIV status is to be disclosed. 

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