Spreading the message – ‘HIV doesn’t have to be a death sentence’

When HIV/Aids was first announced to the world in the 1980s, it was defined by fear, stigma and ignorance. And rightfully so, given the lack of prevention information or treatment available at the time.

Fast-forward some 30 years later and it’s evident that in spite of massive strides made, fear, stigma and ignorance are still rife even for individuals with an undetectable HIV viral load.

In KwaZulu-Natal, the province with the highest HIV prevalence rate, people still speak in code when referring to the disease and life-prolonging antiretroviral (ARV) medication. It’s common to hear phrases such as amagama amathathu (meaning people living with HIV or AIDS) or House In Vereeniging (referring to someone with HIV).

Equally common are ARV’s being called Smarties or vitamins (usually by people keeping their treatment under wraps) and someone in the final stages of AIDS infection being called a BMW Z3 because death is fast for them.

However, one young woman from Durban refuses to live her life under a veil of secrecy, and is proudly using her HIV status and social media platform to educate people about the benefits of taking your ARVs as prescribed.

At first glance, 27-year-old Niqita Pieterse’s photos on her Instagram, blogs and Twitter pages appear to be that of someone who’s lived a life of pure joy. However, her captions read like a horror story.

“I was raped at the age of six and again at age 16. Two years later, at age 18, I was diagnosed with HIV,” she tells The Citizen.

By the time she was diagnosed, Pieterse displayed all the markers of someone in the advanced stages of AIDS infection. But, having survived a number of orphanages and her sexual assaults, she was not about to quit on life.

“I had all the symptoms. There was weight- and hair-loss, shingles and other severe rashes. I was really scared because I knew very little about this disease.”

Despite her fear, she says she knew that she couldn’t keep quiet about her status as she’d seen too many people die in silence.

“I saw a lot of people even take their own lives when they tested positive. Disclosing my status was not easy and it resulted in me losing a lot of friends and dating was difficult, as guys would dump me as soon as I told them about my status,” she says.

Now, nine years later, Pieterse is a mother of three HIV-free children and her partner also remains HIV-free, because she takes her medication every day and her viral load is undetectable.

Niqita Pieterse, her husband, and two of their children. Picture: Supplied

Riaan Norval, a brand champion for Anova Health Institute’s Health4Men, acknowledges the tremendous advancements in the medical field and people’s attitudes over the last three decades.

“A widely published Partner 1 and Partner 2 scientific study recently proved that an HIV-positive person with an undetectable viral load can’t pass HIV on to their partner … an important medical breakthrough,” said Norval.

Pieterse is proof of this and uses her experience to help pregnant mothers or those who are HIV-positive and want kids.

“ARVs help to suppress the virus in our bodies, making it almost non-existent. It also played a major role in me wanting to have a family. With being undetectable, I could not infect my partner or my kids, and I breastfed all three of them,” she says, adding how she’d always dreamed of becoming a nurse.

“I always loved helping people but I didn’t have good grades or money to study further. I now sacrifice my time with my kids and do this free online motivation. I just want people to know that HIV is not a death sentence.”

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