There was a point in time when being HIV positive was considered a death sentence and not just for the patient, but anyone who dared to associate with the infected. The level of stigma surrounding HIV-Aids was so high that no one even dared shake hands with a HIV-positive person. Back then, some people believed the disease was spread through handshakes. If a man lost too much weight within a relatively short time, he had HIV; if a man left his wife she had HIV; if someone was taking more than two pills, then he or she was definitely taking anti-retrovirals - you only needed to act or look different from your normal self for society to label you 'HIV positive'.
We have come a long way since then. HIV-positive patients are now living long, healthy lives. They have careers, they are getting married, they are having children and generally living normal lives. Thanks to a lot of advocacy and health awareness campaigns, the stigma around HIV-Aids is slowly dying down. But even as we marked World Aids Day last Monday, there are more battles to be won.
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