activism, advocacy

This world won't stop spinning just for me and my broken heart, meetings will still take place, conferences will still convene, and the community still needs an advocate to be their voice. If not me, then who?

HAND — What is it? And why should you care? Well, it affects over 50% of our population (HIV+ peeps). It stands for HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorder. Sounds rather daunting doesn't it?

In my home country Burundi there are 13.24 million people of which 2.9% are living with HIV. This means 383,000 people! Many of them still do not have reliable access to HIV treatment and HIV stigma and prejudices are still widespread throughout Burundi.

Creo que al hablar abiertamente de mi experiencia, puedo ayudar a desmantelar los mitos y los conceptos erróneos sobre vivir con VIH. Cada vida tiene esos momentos cruciales, esos que lo cambian todo.

Esta compilación de historias es solo uno de los esfuerzos de Christie's Place para hacer algo por la falta de visibilidad de las mujeres que viven con el VIH. Nuestro objetivo es fomentar un cambio cultural en las narrativas dañinas que permiten que persista el estigma relacionado con el VIH.

This compilation of stories is just one approach Christie's Place has made toward addressing the visibility of women living with HIV. We aim to encourage a cultural shift in harmful narratives that enable HIV-related stigma to persist.

I believe that by being open about my experience, I can help dismantle the myths and misconceptions about living with HIV. Every life has those pivotal moments, the ones that change everything.

I highly recommend attending future ANAC conferences. The experience will enrich your understanding of HIV care, connect you with like-minded professionals, and inspire you to make a difference in the lives of those affected by HIV/AIDS.

While we have made great strides towards empowering people living with HIV in places such as the Netherlands, PLWHIV with a migrant background continue to be hardly seen or heard.

This year, I had the privilege of attending my first conference of the year—and let me tell you, I needed it. I needed the reminder of why I do this work.