HIV positive mother complains over treatment

The health ministry condemned on Wednesday a report by an HIV positive woman, who accused doctors of writing on the cover of her newborn’s health booklet that the mother is a carrier.

Considering the booklet is a formal piece of documentation that the mother will have to show to doctors, schools and anywhere that requires verification of medical data, the mother questioned why the personal piece of information that she is positive for HIV needs to be written on the cover of her child’s health booklet.

“Under no circumstances is this an acceptable practice,” a spokesperson for the health ministry told the Cyprus Mail.

The incident took place at a Nicosia hospital.

Head of the HIV/AIDS support centre (Kyfa) Stella Michaelidou, spoke to Politis saying complaints over discriminatory practices towards HIV carriers were non-stop.

She raised concerns over the way doctors and hospitals treat HIV positive persons, with many often turned away.

Last year, the migration department ordered a third-country national should be deported because he was HIV positive. Following an outcry, the decision was rescinded.

MPs previously heard how the Gregorios clinic at the Larnaca general hospital, which provides antiretroviral drugs to people with HIV/Aids, is understaffed.

An illustration of discriminatory practices was observed in a case that went public in 2021, where a woman who sustained a hematoma after an accident was told at a Limassol clinic that she would not be treated at those premises.

Michaelidou at the time told the Cyprus Mail the woman was advised, in a degrading way, to go to the Larnaca hospital, “which accepts those people”.