BUJUMBURA September 30th (ABP) – The stigma and discrimination of people living with HIV is a sad reality even today, revealed the results of the Index Stigma study conducted to update the Stigma Index data and discrimination against people living with HIV in Burundi conducted from September 2020 to January 2021, said Mr. Hamza Vénant Burikukiye of the CAPES + network. It was during a workshop to disseminate the results of this study, last week, in the Gatumba zone so that the administrators, members of civil society and members of PLHIV networks take ownership of those results, a check on the site by ABP has revealed.
That stigma and discrimination are observed in the family, in the neighborhood, in the workplace and even in care settings, said the Permanent Executive Secretary to the National AIDS Council (CNLS), Dr. Désiré Nduwimana, adding that what is dangerous is that PLHIV self-stigmatize and discriminate.
Stigma and discrimination against people infected and / or affected by HIV are real obstacles to efforts to prevent new infections, provide quality care and mitigate the impact, a check on the site by ABP has revealed.
Self-stigma promotes the spread of HIV, says Dr Nduwimana. However, he continued, the national and global fight is that everyone living with HIV is known, that they are put on anti-retrovirals (ARVs) and that they take them properly so that their viral load. is undetectable and these goals must be met by 2030.
To get there, he said, PLWHA must stop stigmatizing themselves, they must get up and work because they have the same life expectancy as people free from HIV, insisted the permanent executive secretary at the CNLS while adding that they should not wait for something to be given to them. Those people only need a non-discriminatory environment and empowerment, he said.