I just found out this week that the US lifted the ban on issuing visa's for adopting children internationally that have HIV. WOW! That is so huge! The law was passed in January of this year (2010). The trend began in 2008 when President Bush began the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), where he removed the statutory language re HIV - however a special visa was still required. Then President Obama finally lifted the entry ban this year. We received confirmation via the US Embassy that they will grant Visa's to individuals that adopt an HIV positive child. That is amazing news! MORE>>>
We have gotten to know some of the children here in Panama that are HIV positive. They are absolutely precious. They have been cared for since birth at the HIV house in one of the orphanages we help out. These kids are victims, as their mom's never took the medicine that would have prevented them from passing HIV to their child. Their receiving the disease could have been prevented. But then most of the kids were abandoned once the mom's found out the child has HIV. See, it's a bad stigma in the population here for a woman to be HIV positive. So they often will not go get tested, in order for them to then say they didn't know and that's why they didn't use protection. It's horrible, but the same thing goes on in the States - especially in rural areas. These women often don't want to accept the news, so they leave the child (the evidence) at the hospital and never return for them.
These kids at the HIV house in Malambo have been cared for since birth, for the most part. They are absolutely adorable! They have been cared for so well that the disease is completely controlled and essentially they can only transfer the disease through a blood transfusion (or unprotected sex). They continue to take the medication as prevention and will continue to take it their whole lives. The HIV kids receive much better care than the average orphan, so they often don't have the institutionalization problems as severe as the other kids. These children have the disease, yet you would never know it by looking at them! Long story short... if you are interested in adopting a special needs child, please consider these kids. They need a home, just like the others. AND, special needs children receive priority. Thus their cases are processed more rapidly than others. Food for thought!
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