Tag: HIV Advocacy
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The Lie We Tell About HIV Stigma
I used to think it was ignorance. I was wrong. For a long time, I believed what everyone else believes about HIV stigma. I thought people stigmatize because they don’t know better. I thought if we educated people enough, stigma would slowly disappear. I thought awareness was the solution. But the more I lived with HIV… The more I spoke to people… The…
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HIV Stigma Is Not About Ignorance
The Day I Realized HIV Stigma Is Not About Ignorance — It’s About Fear. There was a time I believed something that many people still believe today: that HIV stigma exists because people simply don’t know enough. It sounded logical. If people understood how HIV is transmitted… If they knew about treatment… If they realized that people living with HIV can…
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Why HIV Stigma Still Exists in 2026 — And What Leaders Are Getting Wrong
We have ARVs. We have awareness campaigns. We have global funding (e.g. PEPFAR), international conferences (e.g. IAS), and decades of research. So why does HIV stigma still feel so alive in 2026? Why are people still whispering? Why are conversations still happening in corners instead of in the open? Why do so many people living…
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I Thought Mozambique Was Dangerous — I Was Completely Wrong
I expected danger in Mozambique—but found something completely different. A personal story about perception, fear, and reality. Before I landed in Mozambique, I had already made up my mind about it. Not consciously. Not deliberately. But it had already happened. Floods. Terrorism. Instability. That’s what came up when I searched. That’s what the videos showed. That’s what the headlines pushed to the top. And…
