PlusNews HIV/AIDS news and analysis

A forum for people affected by HIV and AIDS whose voices are often not heard. These personal accounts document the impact of the pandemic, but also serve as testimony to people's strength and determination to meet those challenges. This forum seeks to encourage others to speak openly about the disease, tackling the stigma and denial that have led so many people to a silent and unnecessary death.

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Ooko* and Pamela* - Snapshot of a jaboya relationship
		Ooko, a fisherman in his mid-twenties operating mainly from Kisumu's Dunga beach, and Pamela, a fish trader about 10 years older, have been in a sexual relationship for two years. He gives her the pick of his catch and she gives him companionship and sexual favours. full testimony
Everlyn Masha Koya, "My parents and neighbours are still not convinced I am no longer a prostitute"
		Everlyn Masha Koya, 22, is a sex worker-turned-peer educator in Isiolo town in Kenya's Eastern Province. Now the owner of a successful small business, she told IRIN/PlusNews about the extreme poverty that drives many young women in the region into sex work. full testimony
Mahamud Warsame, "I am doing this so no one has to go through what my wife and I went through"
		In a conservative Muslim society such as Somalia, it is extremely rare for a person living with HIV to speak out. But Mahamud Warsame, 53, from Galkayo in Mudug region of central Somalia, became an activist after his wife died from an HIV-related illness. full testimony
Welile Mlilo, "The sugar daddies say they can give me what I want"
		Welile Mlilo, 19, lives with her mother in Manzini, Swaziland's commercial hub, where she does odd jobs to support the two of them. She told IRIN/PlusNews that one of her biggest challenges was avoiding HIV in a country with the world's highest prevalence rate. full testimony
Mamaleshoae Nkhahle, "They look at me and see that I am not close to dying"
		Mamaleshoae Nkhahle is a mother of four who works as an expert patient at the Likotsi health clinic in Lesotho's capital, Maseru. She helps people newly diagnosed with HIV to come to grips with the stigma of the disease, and diminishes the effects of such attitudes by talking openly about her own experiences of living with the virus. full testimony
Esinati Chimpere, "Is it a crime to be HIV positive?"
		The story of Esinati Chimpere, 29, a single mother living in Kanyumbaaka village, in the Balaka district of southern Malawi, reveals how stigma is refusing to die in some societies. full testimony

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