Re: Rage over baby infected with HIV

I'll like to begin by asking-what attitude will readers of the Punch Newspaper go away with regarding its cover story on Saturday, February 11, 2006 [ Rage over baby infected with HIV] ?

The complex convergence of the gripping emotions of the story, and the ethical challenges in its realization, bring to the fore again the troubling problematic of contemporary Nigerian media reporting of stories that situate emotions and human rights at the corridor of reportorial decision making.

Thus, the salutary professionalism that would ordinarily have followed the fact that the newspaper broke the story and brought an apparently criminal negligent culture in our health care sector to light is immediately dampened by the needlessly theatrical rendition of the story. Let me quote the opening paragraphs of the story to illustrate this point:

"Are you related to Mrs. Aderonke Eniola, a native of Abeokuta , and Adewumi, her Iseyin, Oyo State-born husband? If yes, be informed that the 26-year-old woman got delivered of a bouncing baby girl on November 25, 2005. But if you are visiting their Omisesan Street, Alagbado, Ogun State home, you must note the following: Don't go with gifts yet; don't go alone and have a face towel big enough to mop up tears, for if you smile there, you will smile alone!"

"As a guide, note this too: To see Oyinkansola, the baby, visit the Olikoye Ransome-Kuti Children Emergency Ward at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, Lagos before moving to Alagbado, where the couple have since stayed without the baby, since queer circumstances tore them apart.' "

What point is the reporter conveying with all these game of words? A great opportunity was lost here in public education because, in my opinion, the story went far and beyond. The biggest problem, however, is in the kind of impact the story will trigger among majority of Nigerians regarding HIV/AIDS and the larger implication on societal responses to the pandemic.

I will attempt an analysis of this story against the ethos of the journalistic practice, and of human rights practices. In doing this, we can at least help steer the right attention to the challenges the media must face in its coverage of sensitive issues like HIV/AIDS in Nigeria .

A two months old baby was alleged to be infected with the HIV virus by the authority of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), alleged here, because we are yet to have the comments of LUTH on the matter. Should we accept the reporter's claim that the parent of the baby got a confessional from a Medical Doctor at LUTH as a sufficient justification for the story? Yet this is not to dismiss the possibility that the LUTH authorities were not criminally liable.

So many people have lost their lives in our hospitals and the fact that such issues are unreported or under-reported is not the issue. The challenge from a professional point of view here is just how much sourcing did the reporter bring to the story to do justice and help the readers reach an informed opinion? Sadly little.

However there are greater concerns. Minimizing harm may not be a standard reporting norm but it is an important ethical standard of community life. As the saying is often put, it is important to recognize that gathering and reporting information may cause harm or discomfort, but balancing those negatives by choosing alternatives that maximize your goal of truth telling help to regenerate community life. The grouse with the story in question therefore is therefore not the good intentions of the reporter, which we can probably concede, but the consequences of limited reflection on the implications of how to organize the story. It does no harm to the profession of journalism to say what we should be concerned with in looking at the impacts of news reportage of this type are two critical elements: the key messages conveyed in the report, and the news value of each item.

For instance, what can we make of the Screaming headline: Shocker! 2-Month old baby infected with HIV! As used, the impression created is that it is strange for a child to be infected with HIV/AIDS, whereas it is not so. Africa 's trying challenge with the HIV/AIDS pandemic will do well with more sensitive reporting. Why is it difficult to understand that there are about 12 million orphans in Africa today as a result of the HIV/AIDS problem? The adjoining rider of the same story: "father, mother test negative, demand N100m from LUTH" is the apex of commercializing emotions through sheer appeal to sensationalism. Before it has concluded the details of this report in the way that will give it confidence that all the claims are correct and all the facts have been checked does it occur to those who managed the story process that they can trigger panic, and even direr consequences?

When the reporter inserted himself in the story by making phrases like:

' Don't go with gifts yet; don't go alone and have a face towel big enough to mop up tears, for if you smile there, you will smile alone!'

'where the couple have since stayed without the baby, since queer circumstances tore them apart'.

'Even the couple's lips still trembled in utter shock, agony and anger' what is the point and what value does this add for the readers? Newspapers, if we must make a request, surely have a responsibility to respect their readers. This is way out of bounds.

I am truly taken aback by the point of view of the reporter. He seems to be promoting the pains of the couple yet in the register of love and affection they seem to fall short of the mark. They actually abandoned the baby in hospital! Abandoning a month old baby, depriving her of the much needed comfort is not the best quality of parenthood to my mind. The reaction of rejection and disdain which is common with our people when they hear that someone has tested positive to HIV/AIDS was what the lady also displayed when she said "Before the truth came to the open, I was wrongly labeled the carrier of the virus, making everyone to despise me". Yet this didn't stop the couple from despising their own baby!

In the great effort against HIV/AIDS, misinformation and stigma are bridgeheads. The media can do better to help cross those difficult battle pathways. The role of the media are many in this obviously great challenge but they can help in positively shaping HIV-related policy and how the public perceive people living with the virus, as well as promoting open debate and dialogue. Well-informed and responsible (professional) news reporting helps create an environment where sensitive public health issues are addressed with greater openness and responsiveness. Central in the mind of any journalists or media organization attempting to report any public health issues, particularly a contentious one like HIV, we believe, should be placed against the background of what purpose the story will serve. If and when we have this at the back of our mind, then a critical understanding of the issue in focus becomes important, as well as a commitment to do an objective analysis, while displaying a level of depth and commitment to issues raised in our reports.

We should appreciate that a coverage culture defined by sensational, event-based reporting without informed or analytical presentation and a fundamental lack of education and awareness of HIV/AIDS issues amongst journalists promotes ignorance and perpetuates myth in the general public mind. The immediate impact is the perpetuation of negative perceptions already entrenched in the mind of the people who continue to see People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) as hopeless people.

And coming back to ethics, a journalist can minimise harm by:

• Having compassion for those that could be at the receiving end of your actions.
• Treat sources, subjects, and colleagues as human beings deserving of respect, not merely as means to your journalistic ends.
• Recognizing that gathering and reporting information may cause harm or discomfort, but balancing those negatives by choosing alternatives that maximize your goal of truthtelling.
• Inform yourself continuously so you in turn can inform, engage, and educate the public in a clear and compelling way on significant issues.

I hope we can all learn from sharing from each other.

Thank you,

Steve Aborisade
Editor, NigeriaHIVinfo.com
steve@nigeriahivinfo.com

Original Story of the Punch

Rage over baby infected with HIV

Saturday Punch, Feb. 11, 2006.
Dada Aladelokun

Are you related to Mrs. Aderonke Eniola, a native of Abeokuta , and Adewumi, her Iseyin, Oyo State-born husband? If yes, be informed that the 26-year-old woman got delivered of a bouncing baby girl on November 25, 2005. But if you are visiting their Omisesan Street, Alagbado, Ogun State home, you must note the following: Don't go with gifts yet; don't go alone and have a face towel big enough to mop up tears, for if you smile there, you will smile alone!

As a guide, note this too: To see Oyinkansola, the baby, visit the Olikoye Ransome-Kuti Children Emergency Ward at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, Lagos before moving to Alagbado, where the couple have since stayed without the baby, since queer circumstances tore them apart.

Of course, you are right if you describe the whole incident as curious. Even the couple's lips still trembled in utter shock, agony and anger, when on Tuesday, they told the Saturday Punch reporter their sad story. They fought hot tears all through.

On the fateful day, Adewumi, an engineer had gone out, in dire search for the family's daily bread, leaving behind his wife who was carrying a seven-month pregnancy.

About 4 p.m., Adewumi got a phone call from a neighbour. The message: His wife was feeling uncomfortable and for that, had been taken to a private hospital at Alagbado. As fate would have it, the woman was delivered of a baby in a caesarian session. However, for the baby to survive, having stayed in the womb for only seven months, she was taken to the General Hospital, Ikeja on the advice of a doctor at the private hospital, but nothing could be achieved there, as all the incubators at the general hospital had been filled up; hence, the baby's eventual journey to the LUTH.

Two weeks at the LUTH, it was discovered that Oyinkansola had jaundice, which had lowered the baby's blood content, and for her to live, there was the urgent need for blood transfusion. Desperate to enjoy the first fruit of their eight-month old marriage, Adewumi volunteered to donate blood on the insistence of the hospital's personnel. "I first offered to pay for blood, but the doctors insisted that my own blood must be used, and I donated it after a medical test in which I tested negative to HIV infection," he recalled.

Two weeks after the baby took the blood, her condition refused to give anyone enough reason to cheer up. Then arose the need for tests. It was then discovered by the doctor that the baby tested positive to HIV-1.

Can a goat beget a chick? No, you would certainly say, but that is the riddle that has pitched Aderonke and her husband against authorities at the LUTH.

"I could not believe my ears when I was told that my baby was carrying HIV virus. My wife too was dazed beyond words,' Adewumi said pitiably.

"But your wife could be carrying the virus." the reporter cut in. "Over my dead body," agitated, Aderonke roared in tears, as she jumped to her feet. Already in Adewumi's bag were photocopies of the results of the various medical tests that had been conducted on them. Displaying them frantically in turn, Adewumi said, "Ever before then, my wife and I had gone for the tests, and we were confirmed negative to HIV. My wife did her own on November 11, 2005, at Sonnec Medical Diagnostics Laboratory, Alagbado. She was confirmed HIV-negative. Even when this problem began, precisely on December 28, 2005, she was examined at LUTH and she tested negative to both HIV 1 and 2. The next day, I did mine too and they got same result. Then came the need to know the source of my baby's infection."

When the couple's trouble became too much for the hospital to bear, according to Adewumi, one of the doctors in charge of the matter told them the honest truth: Rather than use the blood donated by Adewumi, another blood, that had probably been infected with HIV virus was used. Then, confusion, as the legendary Afro Beat King, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti once sang.

What then followed? Aderonke revealed, "One of the doctors started begging us to accept our fate, and that they would prescribe for us, the drugs that would sustain the baby. But we can't understand why they did not use the blood my husband was forced to donate. This is wickedness!"

The embattled couple left the baby with the hospital, living with their trauma at their Alagbado home.

Adewumi said the problem had drained his purse, while he had found it hectic consoling her wife: "On many occasions, she had threatened to kill herself. She would neither eat nor sleep. I have not been able to sleep too. The hospital has really destroyed our joy. So painful is the fact that the hospital authorities have kept avoiding us as we made efforts to discuss with them.

"Aderonke also nurses another heartache: "Before the truth came to the open, I was wrongly labeled the carrier of the virus, making everyone to despise me."

Meanwhile, the family's lawyer, Silas Udoh of Onwu Ekowa, Udoh & Co, has, through a letter dated January 20, 2006, and addressed to the hospital's medical director, demanded a N100 million compensation on behalf of the Eniolas, "for the loss, trauma and embarrassment, which your said action has caused our client."

Mrs. Roseline Aderemi-Williams of Perseverance Foundation, a non-governmental body, could not contain her emotions when Saturday Punch sought her views on the matter. She exclaimed aloud, saying, "If the story is true, it is too bad. As a mother, I feel for the couple because one can imagine the trauma they must have been passing through. And if it is true as I said, there is urgent need for the hospital to put in place structures that will forestall future reoccurrence of such a serious thing."

The chief executive of KLEEN Foundation, Mr. Innocent Chukwuma, was equally rattled when his position was demanded on Thursday.

"It is the height of negligence for which heads should roll from the highest level including the minister, to the lowest. It is indefensible," he noted.

Drawing from his personal experience, he said, "I have three children, all delivered prematurely. The first was delivered in the 32nd week. If enough care was not taken, what befell these couple could have befallen my wife and me. This is the worst form of negligence that must be paid for."

Chukwuma however has some words for the embattled couple: "It is criminal for them to abandon the baby in the hospital. No matter what, they must not deprive her of the needed tender care of her parents as a growing child. While doing that, they must pursue the matter to the highest court in the land because such a criminal negligence must be stopped."

Legal practitioners also express their opinions over the matter. Among them is Mr. Niyi Idowu, 1st vice chairman, Nigeria Bar Association, Ikeja Branch, who also heads the body's Human Rights Committee. He told Saturday Punch on Friday, "If the hospital did that to that child, particularly by not using the blood donated by her father, it is morally and legally wrong, and the hospital is liable 100 per cent. Even besides demanding huge compensation from the hospital, the parents of the baby can maintain a court action against the hospital."

Asked how he would react if he were in the Eniolas' shoes, Idowu said sharply, "My reaction would be unquantifiable. I could do anything. Imagine the psychological trauma the parents of the child must have been passing through now. Imagine how they will continue to feel since the child will have to live with the virus; no one can measure all these things. It is a serious blow to the parents and even the child. It is pathetic and unfortunate."

Activist lawyer, Richard Nwankwo, shared Chukwuma's view, noting, "It is morally indefensible for the parents to abandon the baby for the hospital." He added, "On the part of the hospital, there is a heavier duty of maximum care. They should give the baby the best care available."

Nwankwo, who is the president of Crusade for Justice, spoke from the legal point of view, saying, "The management of the hospital has committed professional hara-kiri. The circumstantial evidence surrounding the status of the baby is indicative of extreme professional negligence, which is actionable in law. The couple must pursue the case to its logical conclusion and seek heavy financial compensation from the hospital to serve as a deterrent. One must also add that this is a test case for the country's legal system."

Professor Babatunde Osotimehin who heads the National Action Committee against AIDS spoke on the issue in a telephone chat with the reporter, "Theoretically, it is possible to contact the infection through blood transfusion. It must also be noted that it is not mandatory for the hospital to use the blood donated by the father. What we have these days is a situation whereby such an opportunity is being siezed by the hospitals to get blood into their blood banks since voluntary blood donors are no longer forthcoming. So, when a parent donates blood like that, the medical personnel will screen and look for the blood that matches the baby appropriately. There is nothing wrong in that. However, I cannot make a categorical statement about the issue now because I don't have sufficient information about it."

On Friday, Saturday Punch visited the ward, where the baby was being taken care of. The baby looked sprightly. The mother too was there, while a nurse was giving the baby early morning care. The nurses and doctors around expressed their displeasure that the woman abandoned the baby for about three weeks. "We expected you to have come around so that we could sit down to resolve things," a doctor told Mrs. Eniola, who replied that she travelled somewhere.

On same day, Saturday Punch tried to seek the hospital's position on the matter. The hospital's medical director was said to be away in Ghana for a conference. However, Mrs. Hope Nwawolo who spoke with Saturday Punch at the Public Relations Department confirmed that the hospital's management was aware of the matter, and that efforts were in progress to settle it.

"Hopefully, our MD will be around next Monday. He is going to hold a meeting with the couple and everyone involved, with a view to verifying the whole thing and finding a solution to it," she said.

SATURDAY PUNCH February 11, 2006