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STORY: LAOS / HIV-AIDS
TRT: 2:54
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: CH1 ENGLISH NARR: Steve Neddleton
CH2 LAO / NATS
DATELINE: 19 MAY 2005; VIENTIANE, LAOS
1. Med shot, Aling receiving a check up
2. Close up, doctor
3. Med shot, Aling opening mouth during check up
4. Wide shot, Aling walking home
5. Close up, Aling drawing on floor of her home
6. SOUNDBITE: (Lao) Vansy, Grandmother:
"She doesn't clearly understand what she faces. She knows that before, she felt sick. And after she received treatment from the doctor, she felt better. That's all she knows."
7. Wide shot, Self-help group meeting of people living with HIV and AIDS
8.Med shot, Member writing on poster board
9. Wide shot, other members of self-help group
10. Med shot, mother and son at self-help group
11. Wide shot, Mekong river along Vientiane
12. Wide shot, boats passing on river
13. Wide shot, more river scenes
14. Med shot, boy gets check up from doctor
15. Close up, boy receiving stethoscope check
16. SOUNDBITE: (Lao) Dr. Saykham Phaxayaseng, Head of AIDS care and treatment unit, Sethathirad Hospital:
"The biggest problem is access to treatment. There are only a few places in Laos where people can get access to treatment in Laos. They must travel long distances."
17. Med shot, doctors looking over paperwork
18. Med shot, more doctors looking over paperwork
19. Wide shot, children on swings in park
20. Med shot, children on slide in park
21. Wide shot, traffic driving on main street in Vientiane
22. Wide shot, monks chanting at temple
23. Close up, candle
24. Close up, monk leading prayer
25. Wide shot, people living with HIV and AIDS praying
26. Med shot, doctor and group member praying
27. Med shot, monks
28. SOUNDBITE: (English) Olivia Yambi, UNICEF Representative, Laos:
"The Buddhist clergy in Laos is playing a very important role in communities through the temples, in providing information and knowledge about the problem of HIV and AIDS in their neighborhoods"
29. Med shot, members receive blessing from monk
30. Med shot, Aling receives string around her wrist from monk
It's time for a monthly check up for 11-year-old Aling. The news is good. Her treatment continues to hold back the HIV that has infected her since birth.
But she hasn't always been this healthy. Both of her parents died of AIDS. She has lived with her grandmother for most of her life.
Aling would frequently get very sick. But since she started taking anti-retro viral drugs, she has improved dramatically.
SOUNDBITE:(Lao) Vansy, Grandmother:
"She doesn't clearly understand what she faces. She knows that before, she felt sick. And after she received treatment from the doctor, she felt better. That's all she knows."
Aling attends a UNICEF-supported self-help group for people living with HIV and AIDS in the Lao capital, Vientiane.
Groups like this provide not only medical aid, but also offer emotional support and empowerment.
The prevalence of HIV and AIDS remains low in Laos, but the country's geographic location as a crossroads of southeast Asia leaves it vulnerable to a rapid spread of the illness. Increasing numbers of migrant workers and those in the sex trade are getting infected.
Treatment options have been limited. In 2005, there was only one hospital distributing anti-retro viral drugs, located in the southern town of Savannakhet.
SOUNDBITE: (Lao) Dr. Saykham Phaxayaseng, Head of AIDS care and treatment unit, Sethathirad Hospital:
"The biggest problem is access to treatment. There are only a few places in Laos where people can get access to treatment in Laos. They must travel long distances."
UNICEF helps cover the costs of HIV-positive to travel to Savannakhet to collect their life-saving drugs. It also supports life-skills education for children in and out of school and peer education for rural young people who are likely to move to bigger towns or cross the border to seek work.
(nat of meditation)
For many, spiritual care is just as important as medical care. UNICEF supports an initiative by Buddhist monks to provide meditation and prayer sessions for those living with HIV and AIDS.
These visits aim to help them deal with their fears and the social stigma of their condition. The monks also help fight misinformation about the disease in the community at large.
SOUNDBITE: (English) Olivia Yambi, UNICEF Representative, Laos:
"The Buddhist clergy in Laos is playing a very important role in communities through the temples, in providing information and knowledge about the problem of HIV and AIDS in their neighborhoods."
With proper doses of clinical and emotional treatment, Aling and others suffering from HIV and AIDS can hope to beat back their illness and find greater acceptance in their communities.
In Vientiane, Laos, this is Steve Nettleton reporting for UNICEF. For every child, advance humanity.
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