
No time to be complacent about the war against HIV/AIDS
Loading player...
In this edition of Eusebius on TimesLIVE, he was joined by Judi Nwokedi, Chair of the AIDS Consortium in South Africa, to take stock of the war against HIV/AIDS on World AIDS Day. South Africa has the largest antiretroviral rollout programme in the world. Yet, despite this achievement, Nwokedi warns against complacency.
She argues that it is a mistake to think of living with HIV as being akin to having any other chronic illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension. HIV comes with “a lot of excess baggage” unlike other chronic illnesses. In many families, it is still not spoken about and many people living with HIV experience derision from others. The war against HIV/AIDS, she warns us, will not end by 2030 if we do not deal stigma a fatal blow.
She argues that it is a mistake to think of living with HIV as being akin to having any other chronic illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension. HIV comes with “a lot of excess baggage” unlike other chronic illnesses. In many families, it is still not spoken about and many people living with HIV experience derision from others. The war against HIV/AIDS, she warns us, will not end by 2030 if we do not deal stigma a fatal blow.