MODULE TWO: COUNSELLING - FHI 360 Center for Global Health ...

• Women are more susceptible to STIs then men, and they often do not
have any symptoms that would prompt them to go for treatment. Since
STIs increase the risk of contracting HIV, they make women more
vulnerable to HIV.
• Some African cultures have harmful traditional sex practices, such as “dry
sex”, which can dry out the vagina and make it more susceptible to
tearing.
• Menstruation makes women more susceptible to HIV because the lining of
the uterus is raw and exposed.
• Contraceptive methods such as the IUD are widely used in Nigeria. The
IUD “irritates” the lining of the uterus to prevent pregnancy. This
irritation can provide an entryway for HIV into the bloodstream.
SPECIAL COUNSELLING NEEDS OF WOMEN
This activity makes a link between the impact of HIV on women and special
counselling needs that they might have.
Gloria’s Story
My name is Gloria Chiamo,, and I am 30 years old. I was a blood donor before
my blood was tested. Then one day, a person from the Blood Transfusion
Service came to my home for my boyfriend's address so that they could go to
him for blood. He refused and I tried to urge and convince him, but in vain.
After some time, I was told I have AIDS, and that it kills. It was some time
between1986-1987; I am not precise about the exact year. I became pregnant
with this guy but I had a miscarriage at five months. The relationship broke up
after that. I began another relationship in 1988. At that time I knew nothing
about how to have "safer" sex. I was just told not to have sex. In short, I also
had a baby with this boyfriend in 1993. The baby died at 3 months. He had oral
thrush, whooping cough, and anemia (blood without oxygen). I was so upset
because the child died in my arms.
Thereafter, I got sick and was taken to hospital. With a temperature of 40º C.
(104 degrees Fahrenheit), a high heart rate, I was admitted. At hospital, I was
so upset that I could not even recall when I arrived, or what day it was. I was
not given anything: no pills, medicine, or injection. I lost the ability to walk, as if
I had polio.
Afterwards, I was diagnosed with TB but the results were confusing. I was sent
to the TB hospital. I was discharged after a week, but given TB treatment for 6
months. I was so thin that my neighbor teased me because of having AIDS. It
came to be known by the public because one of the nurses was my neighbor.
Session 8-Pg.6