Women often bear the burden when it comes to issues relating to HIV and AIDS. From caring for those infected and affected to not having much say in healthy sexual practices in their homes because of patriarchal beliefs. But over the years more women heroes have risen, speaking out about living with HIV as a way of encouraging positive living.
According to Pact Worldwide, the majority of people living with HIV are from low income countries. Their figures point out that 20.6 million live in eastern and southern Africa, while 5 million are in western and central Africa and 6 million in Asia and the Pacific. Zimbabwe has not been the scourge.
In 2010, Annah Falali now 53 fell seriously ill. She tried to self-medicate but her condition continued to get worse. Finally, deciding to visit her local clinic for a medical check-up she was shocked to find out she was HIV positive after a blood test. HIV is the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. It is a virus that gets into a person’s CD4 cells which fight infection. The virus destroys the CD4 cells resulting in the immune system of a person with untreated HIV infection unable to fight off diseases and infections. When enough CD4 cells have been destroyed a person’s diagnosis progresses to AIDS. HIV is transmitted through bodily fluids like blood, pre-seminal fluid, semen, breast milk and vaginal fluids.
Pact Worldwide reports that 20 percent of people living with HIV don’t know their status. As a result, people run the risk of spreading the virus and death as knowing one’s status is the first step towards getting treatment. But fear of the unknown and the finality of knowing they are HIV positive are reasons some people have given for not getting tested.
For Annah the timely medical intervention might just have saved her life. Twelve years later, a staunch HIV/AIDS advocate, Annah is living a pretty normal life.
“My family and friends became my strength, they made it easier for me to accept my condition. Also I had seen how the virus had taken the lives of a number of relatives who could not accept their HIV status and defaulted on their treatment. I chose to live by acknowledging my HIV positive status,” she said.
Her main challenge was dealing with the side effects of Anti-Retro Viral (ARV) drugs when she first started taking them. Side effects depend on individual cases and may include diarrhoea, vomiting, loss of appetite amongst other effects.
When you are HIV positive the best thing you can do is to strictly adhere to taking your medication. Telling someone you trust about your condition also helps a lot. The love and care I get from my children and my belief in God is an anchor I cannot do without,” she said.
Toko Muzambi, 58 is passionate about advocating about issues around HIV and AIDS. “Knowing my status and the power that comes with speaking out about HIV has allowed me to help so many women accept their status and live positively.
It has been 17 years since she found out that she was HIV positive. This is her story:
“I found out about my status when I took my sister who had defaulted on her ARV treatment to the hospital. I told the attending nurse I wanted to get tested for HIIV, only to find out that I was actually positive.”
She later found out her husband had been secretly taking ARVs for months.
“I immediately started religiously taking the medication I was given and have never once defaulted. One of the things that helped me was I quickly accepted my status and joined support groups for people living with HIV. I became a “positive woman”, one who was not afraid to speak out about HIV and AIDS publicly. One who spreads positivity around HIV that not all is doom and gloom but one can live a long and fulfilling life regardless of their positive status. I’m fit and strong and have never been bedridden since I found out about my status. I was able to care for my four children and they are now all married. Besides my market stall I spend my time taking care of my grandchildren.
My husband died 20 years ago and one of the challenges I have faced is that of making ends meet. I have a small market stall where I sell a variety of items but it’s hard to survive on with the hard economic conditions currently prevailing.
To all women, I say know your HIV status, get tested whenever you can. It’s your responsibility to know your status at any given time. Once you know your status and take proper care, taking your medication and eating healthily you will live a long life.
