COLLECTED STORIES FROM INTERNET

I went to med school in 2008. In 2015, I finished my study and started my practice. It was a year after that that I got sick. I was so weak, and I lost 27 kilograms. Eventually, I went for a medical examination and was advised to have an HIV test. It came out positive. I had to rest and started to take ARVs. Thank God the meds are working well.

But ever since then my whole life changed, my colleagues started to distance themselves from me and the hospital I was about to start working at refused to hire me, after I disclosed my HIV status. In the end I had to leave my hometown to escape the shame and judgement. Now, my relationships with the people around me have gone sour. I left my partner of 2 years because I didn’t want him to suffer too. I sometimes wish this was just a bad dream. The guilt, anger, and loneliness... I am now working as a medical editor and hope that this will get better, but I still feel that I don’t know who I can go to for help.

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But what' s our role in helping to decrease the number of HIV cases in the world? We all have a role to play by following the strategies to reduce the risk of HIV infection, which include abstaining from premarital sex, limiting your number of sexual partners if you indulge in sexual activity, never sharing contaminated needles, and proper use of condoms. Chief most, having regular blood checks can help one take charge of their status.

We live in a completely independent world, which simply means we can not escape each other. How we respond to AIDS depends ,in part, on wether we understand this independence. It is not someone else’s problem. This is everybody’s problem!Let’s keep acknowledging the existence of HIV/AIDS and the related implications. Let's fight against HIV/AIDS infection, stigma and discrimination. Let’s say no to AIDS.

Together, we can !