Seven-year-old Addy (not his real name) was born as HIV positive. He was infected by his mother who died when he was just two weeks old. At that time, his father did not know about his late wife’s condition as the HIV screening that was done before their marriage had shown a negative status.

However, after Addy was born, his father was also diagnosed as HIV positive and the doctor recommended him to seek follow-up treatment.

After his mother’s death, Addy was sent to a caretaker’s home but his condition deteriorated as the caretaker did not adhere to the strict ARV treatment regime. As a result, Addy often did not take his medication according to the prescribed schedule.

This situation prompted his father to marry another woman, who is also HIV positive, in order to nurse Addy back to health. He now lives with his father and stepmother in Rawang, Selangor, with his two other siblings.

Addy goes for treatment at Kuala Lumpur Hospital and his current test result shows that Addy’s CD4 count is 1298 (25/10/2017) and the viral load count is undetectable (25/10/2017).

He now leads a normal life like other children in school and the RM100 monthly allowance that he receives from the Paediatric AIDS Fund helps to reduce the family’s financial burden.

His father works as a security officer with a statutory body earning RM1,200 a month and his stepmother is a full-time housewife. Both Addy’s father and stepmother are receiving treatment at the Sungai Buloh Hospital.