[IAS + Jo Image?]
By Jyoti Dhawale
[intro?]
Unafraid to Be the First
I began blogging with The Well Project about my own life and experiences not only because I felt alone, but also because I wanted people to see a person behind the diagnosis. I wanted people to understand that HIV does not take our ability to love, work, have relationships, raise families, dream, or contribute to the society.
Over the years that first step opened doors to advocacy. I found myself speaking up for people living with HIV, challenging HIV-related stigma, speaking openly as a mixed-status couple/serodiscordant couple when I got married, advocating to U=U after giving birth. Looking back, I realized that's what "Unafraid to be the first" meant to me. Being the first is rarely about being fearless. It means coming out of the comfort zone knowing that the tribe will grow.
Dare to Disrupt
But coming out of the comfort zone is only the beginning. Sometimes we need to question what is happening on the other side. Change does not happen simply because we accept the way things have always been done. Hence we "Dare to Disrupt"!
For me, disruption means traveling around the world and asking uncomfortable questions. Why are women living with HIV so quickly blamed, judged, and ostracized while their husbands/men may not face the same scrutiny? Why do we rarely have open and honest conversations about STIs (sexually transmitted infections) and sexual health in polygamous, polyamorous, and open relationships? Why are people with disabilities living with HIV not visible enough in the HIV response? As someone who has experienced the importance of accessibility and inclusion firsthand, I know that simply saying the "program is for everyone" does NOT make it accessible. Last but not least, why do we keep asking communities to fit into systems that were not designed for them, instead of daring to challenge the system and add new interventions to it? What if healthcare went to people where they are – nightlife places, relationships (casual sex), sex work, dating apps, sex parties, or to people whose sexual life does not fit the "traditional" idea of a relationship?
Sometimes, disrupting the system simply means asking why are we making people come to us, instead of taking healthcare to them. (A big thanks to Dr. Vinicius Borges who gave a powerful hard-hitting speech: "we need healthcare that moves"!!)
Key Takeaway with the ViiV Healthcare impactful billboard at the 2026 International AIDS Conference: Be unafraid to go first, brave enough to disrupt what needs changing – because every meaningful change begins with someone willing to take the first step and question the way things have always been done.
More from The Well Project on the 26th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2026)
The Life I Almost Didn't Live – From India to Brazil (Part 1): A Recap from AIDS 2026
Knowledge and Connection on Prison Health Matters (Part 2): A Recap from AIDS 2026
