Among the children who were infected with HIV on a mass scale in hospitals in the Osh region, young people have now grown up. The oldest of them are now 22, and their mothers are making attempts to help them start families.

The Difficulties of Marriage Among Those Affected

One mother from the Nookat district said that of the more than 400 children infected with HIV, 360 are alive today. Parents tried to introduce the young people to each other and arrange marriages, believing that the same HIV status would help them understand each other better and avoid discrimination from a partner.

400+children infected with HIV
360survivors
12families created
7families that separated

Despite these efforts, not all the marriages turned out to be successful. According to the mother, seven of the families created later broke up because the young people did not feel mutual attraction.

We mothers made arrangements among ourselves, did the matchmaking and held the weddings. Of course, we wanted to take the children's feelings into account, but we believed there was no other way. And then it turned out that the young people did not love each other and felt no mutual attraction — and they get divorced
The interviewee, a mother from the Nookat district

Other cases have also been recorded: young men without HIV, knowing about the girls' status, married them, promising support, but these marriages, too, soon broke up. In addition, there is a report of a wedding that did not take place, when inaccurate information reached the groom's parents, which led to the marriage being called off.

Context

The Nookat district, which is part of the Osh region, is home to 236,455 people.