HIV discrimination

I advocate for cure research with an open mind and open heart... Personally, I am free from the burden of needing a cure. It's a "nice-to-have", not a "need-to-have".

Sharing my stories and giving courage to others like me who can relate to some of my struggles and victories is a way I can give back to a community that has literally saved my life.

HIV criminalization is an amalgamation of a lot of things. It is ignorance overlaid with fear and underpinned by the need to exert power over the same people who are being feared.

Unfortunately, many countries still maintain entry restrictions for people living with HIV, whether for studies or work.

This framework is my way of calling out the systems of tokenization, manipulation, and performative inclusion—especially in spaces that claim to advocate for us.

Too often, I was told what I should say and how I should say it—by people working in HIV who do not have HIV.

In 2025, HIV/AIDS is still a big taboo in Africa. In my country, I had discussions with my relatives to know their opinion on the subject...

Puedo decir que ya no siento el mismo odio que sentía por mi amiga, pero sigo teniendo ese trauma de antes, y cuando recuerdo aquellos tiempos, lloro.

I no longer have the hatred I used to have for my friend, but I still have that trauma from before, and when I think back to that time, I cry.

It was from the second class that I really understood that I am HIV-positive. Since then, nothing was the same as before.