The burden of the hiv epidemic has never only been carried by the nearly 85 million people infected by HIV since the beginning of the epidemic. The pain, loss and grief of dealing with and our fight against the HIV epidemic is shared by so many more; Orphans of parents that passed away who are discriminated, family members whose relations are strained, caregivers of people living with HIV, activists campaigning for PrEP access, and so on…
Two years after the launch of Stories of Hope on Mandela day 18th of July 2021, we would like to pay honour to these caregivers and the millions of people affected by HIV.
Nelson Mandela once said ‘If we are to accomplish anything in this world it will in equal measure be due to the work and achievement of others’. Therefore, let us remember their struggle and celebrate their contributions as well in our fight against the HIV epidemic and on-going stigma and discrimination.
In honour of the wise words of Nelson Mandela, as of now we will also bring their inspiring stories to the Stories of Hope platform. Because in the end, they are the biggest allies of people living with HIV and their stories are equally important to be recorded and told.
So, we are extremely proud to introduce Daria, our very first Hero of Hope who is not living with HIV herself. According to Daria, “what matters is that you can help others” to claim access to health services and create a HIV stigma free society.
We hope there will be many more people like Daria to join our growing community of Heroes of Hope. What connects us all is to realise a world where people living with HIV are healthy citizens free from stigma.
HIV stigmafighter 