I was scared they might chase us away, say HIV couple

HIV sufferers Tomasi Peka (left), and Buraua Itimeemee are aware of the stigma of the disease. Picture / Paul Estcourt

Tomasi Peka and his wife Apikali discovered they were HIV positive only when their newborn baby became sick.

In 2002 the Fijian couple took tiny Elizabeth to hospital where blood tests showed she had the potentially fatal illness.

A tearful Mr Peka told the Pan Pacific Regional HIV/Aids conference in Auckland yesterday how he and his wife were so ashamed they told their family the baby was malnourished.

Elizabeth died at just seven months.

"We were frightened and confused and wondered when we were going to die. I had to hide the cause from my family because I was scared they might chase us away."

Then came the finger pointing.

"My wife and I began to fight, accusing each other of who contracted the virus first."

To this day Mr Peka does not know how they got HIV.

"But now we have accepted our situation and provide support for each other."

Mr Peka, an intern at the World Council of Churches, works to help others with HIV and educate the public to break down stigmas and discrimination surrounding it.

Buraua Itimeemee, a seafarer, told the conference how when in 2004 he was diagnosed as HIV positive in Kiribati he felt ashamed and worthless.

"I feared being discriminated, from friends, relatives and the community at large. Some kept their distance."

Since then Mr Itimeemee has had to face his wife's illness and death from Aids.

Tim Sladden, a researcher with Secretariat of the Pacific (SPC) public health programme, said from 2000 to 2004 there were almost equal numbers of males and females who were HIV positive.

"There is an increasing vulnerability of women to the infection and their children, it is a highly significant trend."

Mr Sladden said excluding Papua New Guinea, about half the reported HIV cases in the Pacific were due to heterosexual transmission, and about one third were male-to-male transmission.

Perinatal transmission accounted for 4.7 per cent of cases but the risk for that group was increasing.

Mr Sladden said reported cases of HIV in the Pacific were only the tip of the iceberg. New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Guam were showing rates close to those of developed countries and other countries such as Tuvalu and Kiribati had high rates because of their seafarers.

In Papua New Guinea HIV cases were rising rapidly.

Mr Sladden said nearly two-thirds of HIV cases were aged 20-34, illustrating the predominant risk group as young sexually active adults.

Dr Jimmie Rodgers, manager Suva operations SPC, said that, excluding PNG, there were up to 2000 cases in the Pacific, a figure which had prompted suggestions the cases could just be treated.

But because of the stigmas those infected did not all come forward and would be left to infect others, he said.