Through CamASEAN we received a request to help a transgender in Kandal who had a severely weakened condition. After being tested on HIV she appeared to have a viral load of less than 100, diagnosis: AIDS.
Tested to late for HIV
It occurs more frequently in Cambodia that people do not get tested for HIV. If you are poor, and also without a family, you have to make decisions in case of H.. Spend money on food or hospital visit.
H. earned money until recently by women. A profession that often practiced by trans women in Cambodia. Until she became ill and was eventually found severely weakened by people from LHBTI community.
She was tested, found to be HIV-positive, and with an alarmingly low CD4 cell counts. With CD4 cells is measured person’s resistance. A number less than 200 CD4 cells means the diagnosis of AIDS. H. had fewer than 100 CD4 cells.
Her condition was all the more poignant because both parents are deceased, and now she slept in a poorly shelter in front of the house of acquaintances.
The CamASEAN team brought her to a clinic and has given food and medical expenses paid with funding from Untenu.