Punished for speaking the truth on HIV status

Just when the country was celebrating strides made in war against HIV stigma, a sad incident occurred in which a person living positively with HIV lost her job for publicly declaring her status.

Trouble for Ruth Achieng, who has lived with the virus for more than 10 years, started when she came out to speak about forced sterilisation HIV positive women were being subjected to in some hospitals.

Upon reading the story in the Saturday Nation a month ago, her boss asked her to stay away from the food business they were running.

“He just told me that people at the market were not saying kind words about his food business, and it was bound to drive away customers,” says Achieng, who used to work at a food kiosk at Kenyatta Market, Nairobi, popularly known for its nyama choma (roast meat).

Affect his business

The employer was concerned that the publicity she was getting and the talk in the market were going to affect his business.

“Many people in the market were asking him why he had not sacked me. Others said they were not going to eat food prepared by a HIV positive person,” says Achieng.

When the Saturday Nation interviewed her employer, Antony Gathiri, he denied having laid her off due to her HIV positive status.

“I just asked her to take time off for things to cool off because the talk in the market was too much. But it was not the reason why she left.”

“The main cause of her departure,” he continued, “was money problem she had with my manager. The collection for the week fell below the expected (amount), and when asked, she left.”

His manager Philip Nzui said that while Achieng is expected to collect about Sh800 on any given weekend, she managed only Sh200.
“This is what started the whole problem,” he said.

But Achieng wonders why the hostility with this low collection this time around when they had not raised similar concerns in the past.

“What disturbed me is the coincidence between the outbursts and the story that appeared in the Nation where I spoke about my HIV status and forced sterilisation.”

She says on many other occasions, she has failed to meet the target, but at no time such a harsh decision has been taken.

“I strongly believe this was the most convenient way to get rid of me,” says Achieng.

In response to her concerns, Gathiri said it was inhuman to sack someone because of their HIV status.

“I know the repercussions. So I could not sack her. If people know that I have sacked an HIV positive person, then they will avoid my business,” he said.

At the market where she worked, people started avoiding her and discussing in low tones whenever she passed by. Others asked colleagues working with Achieng to lay her off or else their businesses were bound to suffer.

“Some people said that if she cuts her hand while preparing food and blood drops on it, the person who eats it likely to be infected,” said a woman who runs a kiosk at the market.

Achieng said the environment became too hostile that it was becoming increasingly difficult for her to work effectively.

The talk in the market brought out an issue that many people thought had been overcome— HIV stigma and myths of how HIV is transmitted.

While many people openly say they have nothing against HIV positive persons, it seems they hide their inner feelings.

Many others still harbour myths of how HIV is transmitted.

Yet, no single study has shown that HIV can be transmitted through food, greetings, or sharing a plate of a meal with a positive person.

Several studies have shown that HIV cannot be transmitted through contact with spillages of blood, semen or other body fluids.

Experts say spilled fluids may not be of high volumes and with the necessary concentration of the virus for infection to take place.

Once outside the body, the HIV virus becomes extremely inactive within hours, and hence reduced chances of infection.

“In the over 15 years that we have been studying HIV transmission, we have never seen any cases of transmission through casual contact worldwide,” Rick Sowadsky, a senior communicable disease specialist for the Nevada State Health Division Aids Programme is quoted in Aidsmap publication.