LIBYA: Libyans in HIV Case Say They're Forgotten Victims

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

LIBYA: Libyans in HIV Case Say They're Forgotten Victims

New York Times (12.19.04) - Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Craig S. Smith

Many parents of the 428 Libyan children infected with HIV six years ago at Benghazi's Al Fateh hospital recently expressed anger that their children are forgotten. US Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke out on behalf of the Bulgarian nurses Libya sentenced to death for allegedly infecting the children, but he ignored the children's fate, the parents said. "There's a double standard," said Omar al-Kelani al-Mesmari, father of a boy, now age seven, infected at the hospital. International AIDS experts testified that HIV was likely spread by reusing contaminated needles.

Most important now, the families say, is taking care of children who are dying one by one - a task they feel is overlooked in the campaign to save the nurses' lives.

The families lack access to a fully equipped hospital where AIDS specialists can care for their children. Over 50 of the children have serious health problems, while a dedicated clinic for the children has only 12 beds and can treat no more than 40 outpatients at a time. A lymphocyte-count machine has not worked in about two years, despite many requests to the Ministry of Health to repair or replace it. Every child should see a specialist at least once every three months, said Dr. Ali Benjlil, the clinic's director.

All the families have witnessed their children being mistreated or ostracized because of their infection. Many older children face hardships, and have tried to commit suicide, said one man. If an AIDS hospital cannot be built in Benghazi, the families have asked to be moved to Europe for the next five years so their children can receive proper medical care and supervision.

The families formed a committee to represent their interests and asked a court to order the hospital to pay 15 million dinars ($11.7 million) per infected child. The court awarded them $272,600, which the families refused as too little. To date, 46 of the children have died.
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