Aids Foundation shocked by Pacific "leper colony" comments

Updated August 21, 2008 16:19:56

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

A call for people with HIV/Aids to be locked up in leper-style colonies has been strongly criticised by Aids activists. Niue's director of health, Dr Sitaleki Finau, has been quoted as says the human rights of those without the disease must take precedence.
He's also criticised what he calls the glamorising of people living with HIV/Aids.


Presenter:Bruce Hill
Speakers: Renagi Taukarai, of the Pacific Islands Aids Foundation; Francesca Semoso, the deputy speaker of Bougainville's Parliament, and a delegate at the recent International Aids Conference in Mexico

HILL: Dr Finau's outspoken comments have shocked the Pacific Islands Aids Foundation, which describes them as backward.

The NGO has called on the Pacific Forum leaders currently meeting on Niue to condemn the island's health director's views.

Spokesperson for the Foundation, Renagi Taukarai, says Dr Finau's comments could lead to serious consequences for the management of the disease.

TAUKARAI: Apart from being quite shocking statement, it is an insult to human rights, it's an unacceptable affront to human dignity, not just human rights, but to the basic person, human dignity. And it's particularly disappointing coming from a member of the medical profession. It's an insult to those living with HIV, to their families, and it also represents an entirely misguided and ineffective approach to managing the spread of the disease.

HILL: Well what Dr Finau was saying was that people with HIV AIDS should be basically locked up in a colony, like a leper colony. Are you surprised that's he come out with these sort of comments? Do you think there are many people in the Pacific who share his perspective?

TAUKARAI: It's surprising that such backward comments can come from someone quite educated and someone who's supposed to be all about looking after people, care, support, treatment etc., and such comments they can have harmful effects. And it has potential to encourage similar ideas that can start stirring up such movements that really will not address HIV and AIDS in the Pacific. There's already been evidence that stigma and discrimination is a killer, and we're stopping people from coming forward, we are putting fear in the people of the Pacific, and who will come forward to get tested? How do we know that who'll come forth has HIV because everyone is fearing to be confirmed HIV positive.

HILL: The stigmatisation of people living with HIV/Aids is one of the key challenges to tackling the spread of the disease in the Pacific, according to Francesca Semoso, the deputy speaker of Bougainville's Parliament.

She's just returned from the International Aids Conference in Mexico, and says judging people with the disease is the wrong approach.

SEMOSO: But the most important thing is if politicians are already started to stigmatise people by their language, then I don't know which way we're going to go. It is not helpful being judgmental on a lot of issues, and that's exactly what I preach everywhere, can we stop judging people, can we not do that? Because the more we judge people the more we either are really telling them, just go away and don't come back here. It hurts, and the thing is if we are judgmental on people who are HIV positive, who have other health issues and they might STI, we are not encouraging these people to come out, we educate them, we empower them that they can go back to their communities, to their own kind and they do the advocacy there.

So this is not about frank discussion about advocacy in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific, it's about everybody in the Pacific. Whether you are so-called you are normal or abnormal, whatever it is, it will take every person in the Pacific, man, woman and child to collectively work together and we address these issues here. And the most important thing is not to be judgmental, because the thing is if you are pointing at another person don't you then forget there are about four to three fingers that are pointing back at you. So I really am appealing to politicians and political heads throughout the Pacific to collectively work as people of the Pacific, leaders of the Pacific and let's address the issues here. Political issues aren't just as important as HIV and AIDS issues and other health issues, that's really important. The thing I'm appealing for is let's stop being judgmental.