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HIV support groups stretched thin amid pandemic curbs
As the pandemic sweeps through Indonesia at an alarming rate, mobility restrictions have exacerbated existing problems with HIV care.
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Only a few people living with HIV/AIDS in Indonesia have received the COVID-19 vaccine. (Unsplash/Courtesy of Obi-Onyeador/Unsplash)
I
n the global fight against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), grassroots organizations play an important role in ensuring that people living with the condition get sound treatment and a chance at a normal life.
These kinds of support groups already face an uphill battle advocating for people with a virus that still carries a stigma in largely conservative Indonesia.
But as the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps through the country, the attendant mobility curbs have exacerbated existing problems of care and have exposed the limits of support groups in helping people with HIV.
A World Health Organization (WHO) report published on Thursday ahead of an AIDS conference in Germany has found that having HIV increases the chances of dying of a COVID-19 infection by 30 percent.
Many countries with high numbers of people living with HIV are facing a surge of coronavirus cases, fueled by the more transmissible Delta variant and global shortages of COVID-19 vaccines.
The government is considering extending mobility curbs to address the ongoing surge of infections, amid a tenfold rise in daily cases over the span of a few weeks.
But beyond the direct threat of the coronavirus for people living with HIV, support systems are beginning to buckle under the pressure of pandemic restrictions.
