Share Your Story!

My name is Ahmed Cordie, I'm a Lecturer of Endemic Medicine at Cairo University Hospitals and coordinator of Kasr Alaini HIV and Viral Hepatitis Fighting Group, Cairo, Egypt.

People will attend these forums to share their successes, or even failure experiences, from which we can get more insights and power in the fight against stigma and discrimination.

The best part about regional forums is that each region has shared opportunities and shared obstacles, and what fits here may not fit in other regions. So, the regional forums are very good opportunity for real, beneficial exchange of experiences.

As health care provider, I was stigmatized for giving care to people living with HIV and with perseverance and dedication within my team, now we are able to provide stigma-free, high-quality services to PLHIV in my institution and I am inviting all other institutions to benefit from our experience.

I'm Archimedes Domdoma Jr, I work at the James L. Gordon Memorial Hospital in HIV treatment since 2011 in Olongapo City, Philippines. 

Attending the stigma and discrimination forum is an eye opener to every one of us. Advocacy is not complete without its sustainability. The message here is simply to inform all of us, especially the key population and the most vulnerable groups, that HIV service is holistic in its approach. Meaning, you can't just treat or manage the client only himself, but it should be dynamic and whole, meaning friends, families, and other significant others are included in the approach because each case is unique.

These forums helped me alot in decision making, conceptualising different new approaches and trends in my job as a professional and as HIV hub manager.. Also when you join or watch the forum, they will tell you or you will see the strengths and weaknesses which you can use as an example to be a better prime mover in the HIV program in your workplace.

One of my favorites is the Asian Stigma and Discrimation Forum. Hitting the target of 90-90-90 which is happening in my own local government unit by using our one-stop-shop management treatment care and support in our HIV program.

Discrimation and stigma really exist anywhere. Our job is not to eliminate but to pacify or lessen the effect in the individual. In my job as an HIV counselor for almost 11 years and counting, I still have many rooms to improve for myself in order to help those people in this program. Thank you very much. Maraming Salamat po.

I'm Arnold A. Rañada, Volunteer Social Worker at Pinoy Plus Advocacy Philipinas Inc. and Positibong Marino Philippines Inc.. 

As a social worker working with PLHIV, the Stigma and Discrimination Forum has offered me a process of learning, especially the jargon of health experts, on HIV  and  good practices  shared by the experts from other countries and regions. It has also helped me to improve social work practice in the context of HIV and AIDS from counseling, treatment and care intervention and policy advocacy. This program has also helped me to understand the importance of advocating and popularizing PrEP among key affected populations and advocate U=U by localizing its meaning and message as it could reduce stigma among PLHIV, especially in the Philippines. 

This program provides an enormous discussion on HIV intersecting many issues such as sexuality, gender, politics, religion and culture, which are unique in every country.

The forum has given me an appreciation on regional and international cooperation on fighting against HIV and its co-infections. The sharing of "good practices" provides other countries solutions necessary to upscale their current HIV programme while the sharing of evidence based data gathered by the experts exemplifies professional excellence and creates a multi-dimensional atmosphere of learning as "we" the participants are coming from different disciplines such as doctors, nurses, social workers, the PLHIV etc.

My Name is Mustefa Geda Aka Dj Mieco Made in ETHIOPIA from ETHIOPIA.
I’m Dj and Pharmacist who working in ETHIOPIAN PHARMACEUTICAL SUPPLY Agency as a Distribution officer and Dj in my free time.

It is a global educational program of highly-interactive forums on strategies to reduce stigma and discrimination.

Program targets all relevant stakeholders such as healthcare providers, policymakers, and community advocators.

Because stigma affects people living with HIV, who are key population so, ending HIV-related stigma and discrimination is the main role of this forum, that is why people attend this crucial forum.

Lectures reflect on region-specific aspects of the HIV-epidemic, national policies, guidelines and societal context.

It focus on reducing HIV-related stigma and discrimination which is the life devastating disease and treatable.It creates opportunities to discuss and share experiences, relevant in particular to the local and regional setting and creates chances to meet different health professionals from different countries across the world.

These forum always gives priority for healthcare professionals by offering free registration on different forums.

Some patients refused to go to hospital to receive medicines and others missed their appointment due to fear ness of social stigma and discrimination.
Some people living with HIV and other key affected populations are shunned by families, peers and wider communities here in ETHIOPIA while others face poor treatment by missing their medications due to fear of their families, communities and other social relatives for the sake of stigma and discrimination.

My name is Reagan Odhiambo, and I am a Peer Educator in Nairobi, Kenya. 

Why should people attend the Stigma and Discrimination Forums? To create a bridge between "us" and "them". The people who know about the forum and those who don't. When brought together they are likely to join hands to create more ideas.

I am Dr Patrick Makelele, a Medical doctor and Public Health Specialist with more than twenty years’ experience with HIV/AIDS multidisciplinary intervention in Africa mainly in Zambia, Congo DR, Burundi, and Ethiopia working with both public health sector and funded organizations as an implementor or an advisor/ consultant.

People, around the world are encouraged to attend this year’s very important  stigma and discrimination forum, addressing, according to me, a key HIV intervention, considering running the last mile towards achieving HIV epidemic control.  The remaining few people living with HIV are taking long to be found, opting to remain ignorant about their HIV status due to stigma, but the HIV virus itself is not ignorant about its presence in their bodies where it keeps multiplying in the absence of ARV.

Actually, the best part of this forum will be when we hear from the champions themselves, how they have overcome the stigma and discrimination challenge at policy making, workplace, family, and individual level.

Being a care provider, about 15 years ago, a patient refusing to test for HIV due to self-stigma, consented at the last minute when I was about to lose hope to provide appropriate care, today she is an advocate of ARV, she is a happy mother with three HIV negative children saved by Emtct, intervention because she disclosed her HIV status at ANC

Adolescents with whom I interact with a lot, those have undergone a disclosure process at the family and community level and are free to talk about HIV, have a better outcome than those without disclosure.  We have recently experienced a scenario in the rural area where a grandmother made an adolescent boy stop taking ARV at home because of stigma. According to her, this was because her daughter, the mother of the boy, was not on ARV medication. The condition the young man was deteriorating despite previous report of good adherence to care. 

It was surprising at the maternity with IED, some mothers after having opted for artificial milk as option for e MTCT, some have reported complains about family in law members questioning her “why is she not breastfeeding the baby? HIV become a serious issue for the recipient of care when society is not supportive.

However, considering where we are coming from, several barriers have been overcome, starting from ourselves, health care workers, and settings, the preacher is no longer victimizing the sick (paying the price of committed sin) but love and compassion message encouraged. Fear of death has been minimized due to effort of the scientific world which has turned HIV from a fatal disease into a manageable chronic medical condition with reduced pill burden.

My name is Sara Hosny, I'm a Medical Science liaison at Evapharma, an Egyptian pharmaceutical company, Cairo, Egypt.

During the Stigma and Discrimation Forums you can have the chance to share and listen to different experiences that could enlighten you and help to figure out new opportunities to implement actions to fight stigmatization and combat discrimination especially that based on medical or health conditions.

The best part of this forum is the feeling that we are not alone facing stigma and discrimination, and we have the support and encouragement to combat them together while sharing different perspectives that could propel us forward. Especially we are facing similar obstacles and having similar opportunities within the region, and the success story in a country will be a great spirited boost for the others. And as a pharmaceutical company, is a part of combating stigma and supporting other institution.

I have witnessed discrimination based on gender, physical and mental status.
As for me, I faced discrimination based on my gender that made a lot of steps in my life much harder than if I was a male. And as a pharmacist and as a woman who believes in human rights, women's rights, and patients’ rights, I support fairness and equity in all aspects of life.

My name is Shalom Deo B. Ramos, from Quirino Memorial Medical Center in Philippines.

The fear of being discriminated against or stigmatized limits/inhibits PLHIVs to get out of their comfort zone. This is also a perceived barrier to access quality HIV care services. We as advocates play a vital role to speak for them and encourage them to stand for their rights. The improvements in HIV care bring light to the end of the tunnel. And as we continue to serve them, we also need to be empowered through forums and pieces of training such as these.  I believe that everyone should be treated fairly and equally regardless of color, race, gender, and even health condition. Our differences and diversity should not be an excuse for maltreatment and injustice. Instead, these should be a challenge and a call for us to unite and be one in purpose and at heart. No one should be left behind. Acceptance and awareness are essential to elicit change in our society. Together, we will achieve a more accepting, inclusive, gender-sensitive, and HIV-free nation. To God be the glory!

My name is Thuy, I work for Vietnam Authority of AIDS Control, Ministry of Health of Vietnam.
 
In order to achieve this target, almost all key populations have to access prevention services, including doing HIV tests periodically. All HIV-infected people should be treated with ARV.

However, we cannot achieve this target if we do not stop stigmatizing and discriminating with KP population and we can do this.

I think, attending the Stigma & Discrimination Forums is very useful for everyone working in this field, because we will know, will learn, will share our experience and it is also a way to stepbystep to eliminate stigma and discrimination.

Personally, I have not been stigmatized, but I work in the HIV/AIDS program for long time so I understand how people living with HIV suffer with these issues.

That is the reason why I am excited and waiting for these regional forums.
See you there.