SOUTH AFRICA: Caring enough to make a difference - World AIDS Day Special

Pholokgolo Ramothwala has been living with HIV/AIDS for three years. At 23, he is young, outspoken and full of ambition, just like most South African males his age - except he cares enough about the country's HIV/AIDS pandemic to make a difference.

Pholokgolo first found out about his HIV status when a doctor casually informed him that he was HIV-positive, right at the beginning of his last year at university. This did not deter him from completing his studies. "I don't know how I managed, but I did," he told PlusNews.

During this year, Pholokgolo quietly researched about HIV/AIDS and ended up writing his thesis on HIV/AIDS related issues. "I also had to do a rethink and start planning my life all over again," he said.

Working as a journalist writing columns on HIV/AIDS, Pholokgolo found it difficult to adjust to the uncomfortable attitude of his colleagues. "They treated me as if I was made of glass, constantly asking if I was OK, then one day I just decided I had enough so I resigned."

Now a provincial coordinator for leading AIDS activist group, the Treatment Action Campaign, Pholokgolo admitted that he's come a long way since his university days and his understanding of HIV/AIDS has developed extensively.

South Africans, particularly those in rural areas, still don't have a proper understanding of what HIV/AIDS is, he said. "The way I see it, HIV/AIDS is an illness that you can control and live with, it doesn't deserve all the stigma it’s getting."

But people's understanding of the disease has been hampered by the government's confusing signals. Last year, President Thabo Mbeki sparked a national debate when he questioned the link between HIV and AIDS. This year he said the government was reluctant to introduce antiretrovirals to all HIV-positive South Africans because they were toxic. According to Pholokgolo, these messages are not helping and are destructive.

With the theme of this year's World AIDS Day Campaign focusing on the role of men in the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Pholokgolo expressed concern that most young men his age were indifferent about the pandemic. "Young guys are not responding as fast as HIV/AIDS is spreading. Friends my age are enjoying life, HIV/AIDS is not a part of their lives".

AIDS awareness campaigns targeted at the youth are just too simplistic and vague, they need to "get real" said Pholokgolo. Simply telling a young man in his twenties to "be faithful" without a frank explanation of the risks involved is not enough because people are still sleeping around. "I know if I was in that same position and didn't know what I know now, I would just think, 'oh please,'" he added.

Telling people to "condomise" is fine but first people need to know what a condom is and how to use it, he said. Most people choose not to use a condom because they have never been shown how to use it, "just giving them out doesn't solve the problem".

On the other hand, awareness campaigns like loveLife were too slow in getting the message across, said Pholokgolo. loveLife - a controversial HIV/AIDS youth education initiative - has generated a lot of debate over its obscure style of conveying messages about HIV/AIDS. "With all the money they are getting, they should focus on something real and something that will get to people quickly," he added.

It didn't help for the media to report on HIV/AIDS only during events such as World AIDS Day, there needed to be a more balanced focus on the pandemic, said Pholokgolo. "We need to make HIV/AIDS a part of our lives."

Pholokgolo sadly points out that "a lot of people still don't care" about HIV/AIDS. When looking at this year's theme for the campaign 'I care...do you?', young men needed to ask "what do I care about and do I care enough?" because simply caring was not enough, he said.

"I care about my sisters - all young women who are not infected, and I make sure I talk to as many as I can so that they can make informed choices about their lives."

"I care about people who are terminally ill, why should they be left to die?" Pholokgolo is currently in talks with leading US rock band, R.E.M and is organising a concert to raise money for HIV/AIDS hospices in the country.

He told PlusNews that he couldn't wait for the opportunity to meet the Minister of Health, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang to ask her whether she had ever visited a hospice. "I don't think she has, because if she had seen the pain and suffering I'd seen, she wouldn't have left them to die like that."

Theme (s): Other,

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]