Dear Family and Friends,
Now at the height of dry season, there seems to be dust everywhere. We recently made a dusty road trip to the regional capital of Bamenda for an HIV Coordination Meeting. These afford an opportunity for the hospitals and health centers, which are involved in prescribing and dispensing anti-retroviral drugs, to review and standardize the medical care provided to HIV-positive patients.
Participants at the HIV Coordination Meeting
One of the subjects emphasized at the meeting pertained to the necessity of making contraceptive services routinely available to HIV-infected women of child-bearing age. The importance of this was highlighted for us when an HIV-positive woman I’ll refer to as Martha (not her actual name) presented to the out-patient department in a state of anguish because her husband was urging termination of her pregnancy. Martha’s circumstances were especially challenging in that she had given birth to twins 5 months prior to discovering her current pregnancy. Fortunately initial testing indicated that her twins were not HIV-infected. She subsequently made the decision to forgo breastfeeding in order to protect her infants from HIV-exposure via breast milk.
Unfortunately, Martha was not informed that her decision to suppress and discontinue lactation made her more vulnerable to pregnancy in the post-partum period. Her predicament presented a challenge on a couple of levels. First and foremost is the matter of the Lord’s sovereignty over human life, which was shared with Martha and her husband as they were asked to review Psalm 139. Secondly, abortion is against the law in Cameroon. While abortion is sometimes done illegally, these so called “criminal abortions” are typically performed by untrained individuals and often result in uterine perforation, serious infection, and even death.
As Martha subsequently required admission to the hospital for treatment of an HIV-related infection, it has been heartwarming to witness her husband tenderly attend to Martha as her ‘carer.’ He has indicated his support of Martha’s pregnancy which is, of course, complicated by HIV-associated immunosuppression. This comes with gratitude for your faithfulness as we endeavor to help many faced with difficult challenges in this corner of the world.