In the earliest days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, when the virus and the disease it caused were still largely a mystery, Elizabeth Glaser was among hundreds of women who faced a nightmare scenario. In 1981, via a blood transfusion during childbirth, she contracted HIV. She would unknowingly pass the virus to her two children: Her daughter Ariel, through breast milk, and later, her son Jake, in utero. She died in 1994. Keep reading
Gertrude Mwiinga, 40, says that she used to be ashamed about living with HIV and was afraid to tell her son, Sholdon, that he, too, had been infected with the virus. However, through the support of health workers at the Mbuya Daisy site in Mukuyo, Zambia, she found the strength to help him accept his HIV status. Keep reading
In 1993, when Javis Ndugutse was three years old, he was diagnosed with HIV. At the time, Uganda did not have access to lifesaving antiretroviral drugs. Keep reading
Fourteen years ago, at the height of the HIV crisis in Zimbabwe, Linda Ngerenge gave birth to twins. One year later, Linda’s husband and one of her twins passed away because of AIDS-related illnesses. At that time, Linda and her second twin were both diagnosed HIV-positive and were initiated on antiretroviral therapy. Both are healthy today. Keep reading
EGPAF in Mozambique is implementing the Accelerating Children Treatment (ACT) initiative in priority districts in the country’s Gaza province. Initiated last year, thanks to funding from PEPFAR and CIFF, ACT is aiming to double the number of children receiving lifesaving antiretroviral therapy across 10 priority African countries. Keep reading
Tina Louise Dassé has been working as a community counselor since 2009 for Femmes Active, a local organization that works with the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation at General Hospital of Koumassi in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s, Project Djidja. Louise has seen patients of all ages, social statuses, and genders—women, children, men, families, young, old—pass through the HIV testing and counseling services she provides. Keep reading
Hellen Abura, 53, is a businesswoman and mother living in Homa Bay, Kenya. She purchases dagger fish on the beach in Mbita and transports them inland to sell. Hellen has been living with HIV for the past 12 years. Her husband died from an AIDS-related illness in 2004, but, thanks to strict adherence to her treatment, she has continued to lead a healthy, productive life. Fortunately, all of her four grown children are HIV negative. Keep reading
Emily Njerengo is a peer educator in rural Malawi. She is living with HIV; she lost her two children and husband to AIDS-related illnesses. Emily credits a safe motherhood support group with having helped her move past her grief and find a purpose educating and counseling other women. She was trained by the Foundation for Community and Capacity Development (FOCCAD), a community-based organization that receives technical assistance from the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF). Keep reading
At 14, Corazon Aquino is finally a big sister, a role she finds “exciting”. She enjoys helping her mother care for 1-month old Rose and thinks about her future, when she will be a doctor and have three children of her own. She feels secure knowing that her children, like her baby sister, can be born HIV-free. Both Corazon and her mother, Esther Opinya, are living with HIV. Keep reading
