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In the past, many people living with HIV/Aids were looked down upon and others were shunned by even their close relatives.
The majority of people living with HIV/Aids revealed that they are now welcomed by their respective communities and as such are no longer shy to disclose their status.
They said it was hard to disclose their status during the early 1990s because of the myths associated with the pandemic.
Through vigorous awareness campaigns, they said, society had come to realise that HIV/Aids was not a death sentence.
In 2003 the World Health Organisation (WHO) stated: “As HIV/Aids becomes a disease that can be both prevented and treated, attitudes will change, and denial, stigma and discrimination will rapidly be reduced.”
In light of this, National Aids Council (NAC) monitoring and evaluation director Mr Amen Mpofu said they were confident that they would achieve their objective. He said through education programmes, he was confident people will accept each other’s status and stigma and discrimination will be a thing of the past by the year 2015.
Mr Mpofu urged people to disclose their status to people whom they trust or their close relatives.
“Some people have the tendency of disclosing their status to everyone. They should disclose their status to their close relatives,” he said.
Asked about the reason why people must disclose their status since they can access treatment and look healthier without disclosing their status, he said:
“It is important for people to disclose their status because we are talking about a life long disease. The major transmitter is through sex hence partners should disclose their status to each other so that they make informed decisions about their sex lives for example,” he said.
Mr Dumisani Nkomo (45) from Emganwini, has been living with HIV/Aids for the past 23 years but only started taking antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) seven years ago.
“When I decided to disclose my status and openly talk about HIV/Aids, there was strong opposition from all directions, my family, the church and friends but I won the battle and today I have helped a lot of people who are positive.
“I had more fingers from members of the public pointing at me after disclosing my status, but I did not regret my decision because I knew what I wanted to achieve,” he said.
Mr Nkomo said he had to fight hard against stigmatisation and discrimination. He said people used to call him names just because he was HIV positive.
“When I first disclosed my status people dismissed it as a fund-raising gimmick and therefore did not take me seriously. Everyone is now affected. Some people who were calling me names are now regretting what they were doing to me even though they are not coming forward to apologise,” said Mr Nkomo.
He said stigma and discrimination was still there but was changing as people were slowly accepting that being infected with the disease was not the end of life.
“I have been living with HIV/Aids since 1989 and I am happy to say that I am healthy and am looking forward to live longer. When I discovered that I was HIV positive, the most difficult thing was to accept my status and cope with the anxiety and misery that the condition brought to my life, until a certain counsellor from the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) church came to my rescue,” he said.
Mr Zacharia Chitera (32) is a father of two. He has been living with the disease for the past 10 years. He said stigma and discrimination was no longer a big problem as was the case in the past.
“I got tested and I was found positive. My wife accepted my status, she also went to test and was found positive,” said Mr Chitera.
“Discrimination and stigmatisation is no longer a big issue. At first in the early 1990s it was a problem because the disease was not common but now we are living peacefully and harmoniously with others.
“The strides that have been made over the years by the community and organisations have been helpful. Of late all stakeholders have become more involved in HIV/Aids awareness programmes that almost everyone now understands what it entails to live with the virus,” he said.
Mr Chitera said many people were now aware that the disease was manageable and what was only required was to be positive.
“We are not ashamed of our status instead we are proud of being the pillar of people living with HIV/Aids,” he said.
The president of Positive Living Association of Zimbabwe (PLAZ) Mr Benjamin Maseko also conceded that cases of people being discriminated against because of their status were going down.
Mr Maseko said discrimination and stigma used to contribute to most deaths of people living with HIV.
“People have now accepted HIV/Aids like any other health condition that has to be attended to and I believe this is as a result of the many education campaigns conducted throughout the country over the years,” he said.
Mr Maseko said he realised that he was living with the disease in July 2008.
“After getting tested it was not easy to disclose my status to my wife,” he said.
He said for many people HIV status disclosure was not an event or a one-time conversation. It was a process, he said, that needs time and effective communication.
Due to guilty conscience, he said, one would rather die in silence without having his or her status known by those who are close to him or her.
Mr Nkomo said there is still a lot that needs to be done if the country is to achieve the desired goal.
“Stigma and discrimination is still there affecting some people. This is why some people are still reluctant to find out their status. We want to reach a level where people are free to discuss their status. In other countries, being tested for HIV is taken as simple as going for a blood pressure check up,” he said.
Mr Maseko applauded the Government together with National Aids Council for playing a leading role in fighting stigma and discrimination.
Online Reporter