Stigma is the biggest problem with HIV – activist

If the global HIV epidemic is going to decrease – as projected by Unicef in its latest report – then the issue of stigma still has to be tackled aggressively, says an Aids activist.

Speaking at Unicef’s Children and Aids: The World in 2030 report launch, HIV Activist Saidy Brown said one of the biggest challenges for people living with the virus was the fear of stigma and how their communities would react to them after they disclosed their status.

She said she had the same fear herself when she found out she was HIV positive at the age of 14 at a school excursion and had to disclose the information to her aunt, whom she lived with at the time. Reminiscing, she said she was afraid to disclose her status because she did not know how she got the virus and at the time she only understood the virus to be attained through promiscuity.

She decided to withhold the information and instead busied herself with other activities for the next six months. She eventually told a teacher who accompanied her to tell her aunt. That was how her journey began.

“I came from a town where no one spoke about HIV and so there were no figures to look up to,” said Brown.

“When my health deteriorated and I had to go on treatment, I thought I had to sign application forms and go through a long process. To my surprise, the medication was so accessible and this told me that I wasn’t the only one living with HIV, there were other people too but they were not speaking about it. That is why I decided to start being vocal about my HIV status.”

She said although she is now 23 years old, she still has moments when the reality of living with the virus sinks in and she feels like crawling into a dark tunnel and ending her life. But she has realised that its okay to have a bad day and she is focused on being a positive beam of light for others experiencing the same thing. Brown now makes use of social media and other available platforms to support other people living with the disease and inform others who may want to learn more about it.

“They discuss the day-to-day issues that they face like relationships, sexuality, sex, problems they experience in health care facilities and stigma. “We need to deal with stigma because it is still rife and stagnant in our communities,” said Brown.

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