Struggles of a Girl Battling HIV from Birth: Journey to Recovery

The names were changed to conceal the identity of the beneficiaries.

“I am tired. There is no one else I can go to. I don’t have any money. Where would I take her?”  

Mrs. Ugobi blurted out after being told by the hospital she needed to cuff up more money for her granddaughter’s treatment. The elderly woman barely scraped her purse to gather the last ₦2,500 requested to buy drugs for Adaugo. 

Adaugo is a 12-year-old child who lives in Enugu state. She is HIV positive. She was infected at birth (mother-to-child transmission) and this has totally altered her life. 

Adaugo lost her parents to AIDS a few years after she was born. Ever since she has been living with her grandma, Mrs. Ugobi, alongside her cousins. Adaugo and her grandmother live hand-to-mouth. The elderly woman sells vegetables at a popular market in town to make ends meet. They can barely guarantee their next meal without going out to trade. 

For a child of twelve, Adaugo was severely malnourished. It was clear her immune system was failing. The family could barely feed, and enrolling her in a hospital was out of the question. Until Adaugo started coughing. 

It started mildly, but in a matter of days, it became severe, increasing in frequency. She coughed uncontrollably and bled when she did. She had difficulties breathing and could barely stand. Adaugo was struggling for life. 

Mrs. Ugobi had to seek help or risk losing her granddaughter. She went to a nearby hospital where she was referred to Enugu State Teaching Hospital for Tuberculosis screening. 

“I spent all I had, and it was barely enough. They asked me to ‌get more drugs and my child wasn’t getting any better. I couldn’t handle seeing her in so much pain, it broke me down.” 

Seeing how helpless she was, the facility referred Mrs. Ugobi to the Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Project. The OVC project is a global action toward HIV epidemic control in sub-national units in Nigeria. It is an HIV care, prevention, and treatment program that identifies beneficiaries, link them to care and helps achieve viral load suppression. South Saharan Social Development Organization (SSDO) in partnership with the Catholic Caritas Foundation of Nigeria (CCFN) is the implementing partner. 

The OVC project took responsibility for her care and facilitated her TB screening process. The results came out positive, and she was immediately linked to care in the state TB treatment program. She has begun TB medication and continued her HIV treatment. The organization also provided emergency food and health support to the family.

Research shows that poverty is inversely correlated with drug adherence. Part of the project’s objective is to help people like Adaugo by providing social and economic support. Families like Adaugo’s wouldn’t have been able to meet the financial demands of treating HIV and tuberculosis without the OVC program. Her journey to viral load suppression and TB treatment completion would have been stunted.  

We can gladly report to you that Adaugo is doing much better and responding to treatment. Mrs. Ugobi’s joy knew no bounds and profusely thanked the team for the support. 

“Only God can repay you. I don’t know what I would have done if you didn’t enroll her in the OVC project. It is because of you I didn’t lose my daughter.” 

The hospital also screened other members of the family who have been in proximity to Adaugo for tuberculosis. Three returned positive and have been linked to treatment.