Women Condemn Stigma Over HIV. 05/07/07

Nairobi. Ms Gcebile Ndlovu, 45, a widowed mother of three, has lived with the virus that causes Aids the last 18 years.

Dressed in a nice suit, the motherly woman is full of confidence and one can hardly tell she has HIV.

But the 18 years have not been an easy road. She has faced stigma and discrimination in her community.

"When my in-laws found out that I was HIV-positive, they saw me in a different light. They discriminated against me and did not support me despite my condition. It took them a long time before they understood what was happening to me," Ndlovu says.

Ndlovu, a Swazi national who spoke at a press conference in Nairobi, said denial in churches was making it worse for people living with the virus.

Ndlovu, who is the Southern African Regional co-ordinator for women living with HIV/Aids is not alone.

Approximately 17.5 million women are living with HIV globally. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 60 per cent of people living with HIV are women.

Stigma and discrimination, gender inequalities, health care and treatment, sexual and reproductive rights, women's leadership and economic empowerment are some of the key issues the women addressed.

Ms Inviolata Mmbwavi, national co-ordinator of the National Empowerment Network of People Living with HIV/Aids in Kenya, has lived with the virus for 15 years. She is afraid for the country if the condom debate is stopped.

"It is an impediment to the HIV-positive persons who want to have sex. People have a right to protect themselves from HIV and sexually transmitted infections. It is their human right to use condoms," she said.

The women are attending an international women conference on HIV/Aids at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre.