T

hree young women ate their lunch in the treatment room for transmitted diseases in Sanglah Hospital. Their faces were pale and gaunt, showing protruding bones — a result of weight loss due to diarrhea and acute tuberculosis.

They were accompanied by counselors from Spirit Paramacita, a foundation focusing on giving treatment to people living with HIV/AIDS.

The three counselors engaged the women in chatty conversation as though they were friends, never asking about the medical treatment they were waiting to receive.

“They didn’t say anything about HIV/AIDS. We found that out from their families,” said counselor Istina Dewi.

Most of the families visiting the eight other patients in the room were not aware that these two women were living with AIDS.

“We could help the patients by explaining to their families about their condition if they would allow us to. But unfortunately the patients keep silent,” said Istina, a housewife with one son, who has offered support to AIDS patients for more than five years.

Istina said she and her friends should be more active in approaching AIDS patients, especially those who had been receiving treatment for a long time.

“The stigma of HIV/AIDS consumes their minds. It would be too late if we just waited for them to confess. We should immediately give them the right information to help their situation.”

The counselors not only accompany AIDS patients in the treatment room, but also at the hospital’s Nusa Indah HIV voluntary, counseling and testing (VCT) clinic.

The counselors usually wait for the patients in the clinic and help them get access to antiretroviral drugs and other health services.

Most of the patients taking ARV drugs at Nusa Indah clinic come from outside Denpasar, including Karangasem and Gianyar.

Santi, a middle-aged woman from Karangasem, drove two hours to get to the ARV clinic.

Although she could get the drugs at Amlapura Hospital in Karangasem, which is much closer to her home, she prefers to go to Sanglah, because she is afraid someone from her area might recognize her and find out about her condition.

“In fact, the patients place the stigma on themselves and this stops them from getting the medication closer to their homes,” Spirit Paramacita director Putu Utami said.

The HIV epidemic on the island has now begun to enter ordinary households, having at first been a disease far more prevalent among the traditional high-risk group, such as sex workers and drug users.

Since 2002, Paramacita, formerly Bali+, has treated 1,026 AIDS patients in Bali.

The provincial health agency said the number of HIV/AIDS patients in Bali had reached 4,000 with more than 60 percent of those aged between 20 and 29 years old. However, the Health Ministry and the National AIDS Commission estimated the total number at 7,000 people.