HIV positive women in KK face discrimination

At least 88 percent of women living with HIV and Aids in three traditional authorities (T/As) in Nkhotakota face stigma and discrimination.

Nkhotakota district coordinator for Coalition of Women Living with HIV and Aids (COWLHA) Getrude Ng’ona said this on Thursday during the 2013 People Living with HIV (PLHIV) annual conference.

The conference was organised by the Malawi Network of People Living with HIV/Aids (MANET+) in conjunction with its member organisations in Lilongwe.

According to Ng’ona, early this year, COWLHA conducted a survey to understand experiences of women living with HIV and Aids in the area.

“After visiting 307 individuals and organisations from three traditional authorities in the district, we found out that a lot of women living with HIV and Aids lacked support from their community,” she said.

Ng’ona said health service workers are at the centre of the discrimination.

“One woman living with HIV and Aids gave birth on the floor when healthcare workers refused to attend to her after accusing her of being negligent because she got pregnant even after being advised not to get pregnant,” she said.

A representative of the Network of Journalists Living Positively with HIV and AIDS (Joneha), Owen Lupeska, said journalists who are HIV-positive can help reduce stigma and discrimination when they disclose their status and start addressing their own issues before talking about other people.

“By telling their life stories, journalists in the country who have HIV and Aids can help mobilise others on the issue,” said Lupeska.