The house is buried deep in the heart of Teshie, a suburb of Accra. It takes time to meander through houses and negotiate curves on the dusty un-tarred road to locate the offices of the Foundation for Women and Children (FOWAC), one of the several HIV/AIDS support groups in the country.

Twice every month, some 40 women and children brave the busy and heavy Accra-Tema beach road traffic to get to the house, what they see as home, to bond and to find comfort.

They come seeking support of every sort: physical, psyco-social and financial, among others, as they grope in the dark for help in coming to terms with their HIV status.

Aunty Akua, as she prefers to be called, is the driving force behind FOWAC, established in 2005. She has little money but has opened up the FOWAC office at her residence, where women, some single, some married and others with children meet and plan for their life and livelihood.

This is where they receive help to set up small businesses ranging from petty trading, production of batiks, exercise books and soap through small loans provided by FOWAC with support from the Ghana AIDS Commission.

Some of these women have bonded to find comfort, flee from stigmatization, poverty and find resources to take care of their health.

Some have been able to make it and are now self-employed. "Some cannot buy drugs when they are ill. Some of them have to be assisted to get drugs. Three women with babies, very ill, recently, had to be assisted to receive free medical attention and drugs," Aunty Akua explains.

Tuberculosis and malaria are some challenges these women face and yet are unable to get enough money to register with the National Health Insurance Scheme to access free medical services.

Tuberculosis treatment is free in Ghana. But for those who come down with malaria ever so often, they cannot afford the new anti-malarial drugs, which are expensive.

"Even some of our people cannot afford antiretroviral drugs, which cost five Ghana cedis, how much more a drug such as coartem, very effective for treating malaria in HIV infected persons. Coartem costs eight Ghana cedis." Aunty Akua argues.

She says they are waiting for a response from the Ghana AIDS Commission, after submitting a proposal for funding to register more women and children with the National Health Insurance scheme to enable them access free treatment for malaria and other illnesses.

"You know malaria affects us greatly because it is common in Ghana and because of our weak immune systems, an infected person could get three to four malaria attacks within a year."

"Because of stigma, some of our members have no place to lay their heads and are at the mercies of mosquitoes. We have been advised to sleep under insecticide treated nets," Aunty Akua says.

Malaria, like other diseases including tuberculosis, is more difficult to diagnose in people living with HIV/AIDS. The standard practice in malaria endemic countries is to assume every fever is malaria until proved otherwise. Many HIV-positive people feel safer taking drugs immediately . It is evident that malaria kills quickly and it does not wait for someone to take a test first. It is rather an irony many of these women die malaria instead.

Dr Oliver Commey of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, in Accra, has worked with many HIV-positive persons including Aunty Akua at the Fevers Unit. Some are already on anti-retroviral. He says the viral load of HIV infection increases when such persons come down with malaria.

"HIV infected person became more ill when attacked by malaria. There is a high concentration of viral load and a stress on the immune system. HIV infected children, when they come down with malaria, end up having a higher viral load too."

"Pregnant HIV infected women with malaria are predisposed to giving birth to low birth weight children. They risks complications and have recurrent miscarriages," Dr Commey's adds.

He advises that such pregnant women sleep under treated bed nets and go on preventive intermittent malaria treatment to deal with the disease.

Health experts recommend that HIV-positive persons be treated with a highly effective anti-malaria drug.
However for some members of FOWAC they would have to wait for a very long time for help due to financial constraints they cannot get anti-malarial drugs or treated bed nets.

"We would be happy if a company could take it upon themselves to regularly support us with some free anti-malarials. This would go a long way to help us. It has not been easy getting such help. Companies are more willing to sponsor beauty pageant programmes," Aunty Akua laments.

Until, perhaps, the Ghana AIDS Commission hears their cry for funds to register these women under the National Health Insurance Scheme, these women and children would continue waiting in the dark for help.