As with any other serious illness, HIV may cause people to require emotional support and motivation to live a normal life. HIV patients sometimes bear a heavy emotional burden after they are diagnosed and their plight has put the spotlight on the need for counselors in the Kingdom.

During the multidrug-resistant TB (MDR) treatment, people go through adverse effects ranging from nausea, deafness, blindness as well as shock, anger and fear over how everything will progress, and dread of being isolated by family and friends. In such a situation, the patient needs to be constantly motivated to take the medicines and to receive emotional support, a senior public health official said.

Fatimah, a Saudi woman who was diagnosed with HIV 10 years ago, recalled how her world changed thereafter. “I was shattered, upset, shocked, and depressed. I knew the future was dark. I came to know about it while I was 8 months pregnant. The HIV care and treatment pushed me toward depression. Although the treatment was highly expensive, my husband could afford it,” she said.

“I also learned that my husband was suffering from HIV but he never disclosed it to me. However, unfortunately, the baby was born HIV positive and didn't survive. That was the blackest day of my life. I was very depressed and couldn’t believe my fate. Even as I was recovering from this tragedy, my husband passed away. My inner self told me I too would die. I felt all alone in the world, not only emotionally but also financially,” she confided.

Hadeel, another HIV- positive patient, began to receive free medications and financial support from the Saudi Association for Aids Patients at the beginning of the illness, which made her strong and brought back the hope to live with dignity she’d lost when she learned about the disease. For her, this help was was a lifesaver. “During the time of treatment, it is necessary to motivate and encourage the patient to fight the illness. The hospitals in the Kingdom that treat HIV patients lack counselors who help with the emotional side of the disease. Since I experienced this life changing trauma, I started to help and advice other HIV patients on how to live a normal healthy life, fight the disease and to be strong, both emotionally and spiritually with the help of AID association.”

Similarly, Dr. Reem Saleh, a physician at the government hospital, believes that this kind of support and guidance should be in every hospital across the Kingdom. “Counseling should be made mandatory for diseases such as HIV, where patients suffer from extreme mood swings that adversely affect their treatment. We should fill these positions at hospitals immediately,” the doctor said.