Concern is growing with the increase in cases of rape and changes in the sexual practices of young people
A whirlwind of emotions gripped the housewife when she learned of her 17-year-old daughter’s HIV-positive status at the beginning of July 2024.
At first, skepticism.
The child only suffered a sustained fever.
Then endless infections.
Then a cascade of ailments.
When the 37-year-old woman finally learned the root cause of this succession of illnesses, she isolated the young girl and threatened to evict her from the two rooms rented in Delmas for the family of 4.
« I encouraged her to finish her studies, to wait until she learned a trade before thinking about sex, » says the devout protestant in a choppy delivery, resolute: « I don’t want to have anything to do with her anymore. »
It remains difficult to obtain accurate figures on HIV rates among young people in Haiti.
Dozens of testing centers are closed or operating with difficulty in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area due to gang violence.
But experts fear an increase in cases, due to the systematic sexual violence practiced by gangs.
I encouraged her to finish her studies, to wait until she learned a trade before thinking about sex. I don’t want to have anything to do with her anymore.
Changes in the sexual practices of young people are also a concern, in a context of economic precariousness, lagging investment in awareness campaigns, and occurrences of mother-to-child transmission.
Read also: More than a thousand HIV-positive patients without medication in P-au-P
In Delmas 41, the Foyer Lakay Jèn (Folaj+) association assists HIV-positive young people up to the age of 24.
When it was launched in September 2023, Folaj+ supported 157 HIV-positive children.
In 2024, this figure increased to 202.
According to officials, the majority of these children come from areas under gang control, such as Canaan, Cité-Soleil, Carrefour-Feuilles, Croix-des-Bouquets, or Pernier.
« We have cases of infection resulting from rape committed by bandits, mother-to-child transmission, and parents who have died of HIV-AIDS, » Marie Dominique Beauzil, executive director and founder of Folaj+, told AyiboPost.
The La Paix de Delmas 33 University Hospital takes some of the children affected by HIV from the same hotbeds of violence, according to counts from April 2024.
Two years earlier, the World Bank estimated that there were 6,500 children aged 0 to 14 living with HIV-AIDS in the country.
According to the institution, deaths related to the disease had been reduced by 21% and 75% respectively between 2010 and 2022, according to findings.
Experts fear that these figures could be exceeded today.
We have cases of infection resulting from rape committed by bandits, mother-to-child transmission, and parents who have died of HIV/AIDS.
The Haitian Group for the Study of Kaposi’s Sarcoma and Opportunistic Infections (GHESKIO) has been actively involved in the fight against HIV-AIDS for several decades.
These campaigns place Haiti among the world’s leaders in the fight against the virus.
Today, GHESKIO is observing an increase in new cases of infection, particularly among adolescent girls, according to Bernard Liautaud.
In 2022, the center saw 163 new infections for the 10 to 24 age group, with 38 men and 125 women.
This is an increase from 2021, when the institution of more than 20,000 patients recorded 127 new cases – 30 men and 97 women – in this category.
« I’m worried, » says Liautaud, an epidemiologist and a co-founder of the center.
Today, GHESKIO is observing an increase in new cases of infection, particularly among adolescent girls, according to Bernard Liautaud.
Mother-to-child transmission of HIV remains a major vector of spread.
The Croix-des-Bouquets Health Centre supports nearly 1,300 HIV-positive patients.
This figure includes 69 children, 52 of whom are between 0 and 14 years old, says Emmanuel Dumesle, a psychologist in charge of HIV-positive people at the institution.
The site also monitors 128 other children at risk of HIV/AIDS.
These children have at least one HIV-positive parent.
In the past, the health facility received children from orphanages in the area. But these transfers are disrupted by insecurity.
The Croix-des-Bouquets Health Centre supports nearly 1,300 HIV-positive patients.
One AyiboPost investigation released last April revealed that several hundred HIV-positive patients could not receive their medication due to insecurity.
The majority of hospitals no longer do screening tests because of the country’s security climate, continues a doctor from the Dr. Ary Bordes Hospital of Beudet in the same locality.
The facility – disrupted by violence caused by the 400 Mawozo gang – has set up satellite sites in Santo to provide care to about 233 patients.
A thousand other patients under assistance come from another site, according to Junior St Fleur, one of the doctors from the facility.
Concerns about an acceleration of cases in teenagers affected by the disease also reached Notre-Dame on the Route de Frères.
This hospital assists nearly 400 patients, including two children.
The apparent increase in other centres in Port-au-Prince may be due to the reduction in the number of outreach workers.
The latter can no longer go into the field and young people are experimenting with new sexual practices without protection, says a doctor close to Notre-Dame Hospital.
Read also: May 10: Gressier’s wives recount a dark evening
Addressing the spread of HIV/AIDS in Haiti requires investment in infrastructure.
For example, the gangs vandalized most of the hospitals in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, including 11 sites in a network distributing life-saving HIV/AIDS care.
At the same time, a battle against myths must be fought, according to specialists.
Some patients downplay the disease, which they associate with witchcraft and other superstitious beliefs, notes Junior St Fleur, a doctor at the Dr. Ary Bordes Hospital.
The reintroduction of awareness campaigns and the mass distribution of condoms to the youngest are also recommended.
« We must educate young people in responsible sexuality, » says Beauzil.
« This generation needs to be able to assess the risks of their actions and make better decisions, » says the specialist, who has more than two decades of experience in the fight against HIV in Haiti.
Mindsets also need to change when it comes to sexuality.
Parents and religious leaders preach abstinence, but young people sometimes experiment with sex at a very young age.
The teenager from Delmas, for example, had several partners, but was afraid to tell her mother.
When the latter learned of the HIV infection, she decided to stop paying for the girl’s school.
She also asks the children not to eat her leftovers and not to drink from her glass.
From now on, the young lady must sleep alone on the kitchen floor.
We must educate young people in responsible sexuality.
– Marie Dominique Beauzil
Research shows that an individual with HIV can live with his or her loved ones.
But the woman does not want to take any risks. « I’m very afraid of this disease, she says. I don’t want to live in the same place as her and I don’t want the other two children to catch the virus. »
The woman’s employer helped with medical assistance.
An education specialist, she says she is aware of at least three similar cases this year.
The professional proposes the introduction of a certificate of sexual aptitude in Haiti. She, along with the mother, requested anonymity to protect her privacy.
« We need sex education during the holidays, she continues. The ministries of education and health must get involved. »
By Jérôme Wendy Norestyl and Widlore Mérancourt
Cover image: Doctor conducting medical research in a laboratory. | Freepik
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