“I have a story that I want to share.”

My name is Rosa Mahlasera. As an advocate and ambassador for adolescent HIV services, I directly support my peers so they can cope with their care and treatment journey. I have a story that I want to share.

As we all know, the COVID pandemic has changed the way human beings live and how we associate with one another. During this pandemic, youths and older people alike have suffered traumas—both physical and mental. The coronavirus is still claiming the lives of many across the globe, and the fear of this disease has caused people to suffer mentally while trying to cope.

Recently, I came across a young person who was not coping well during COVID. I investigated more, trying to help. I discovered that there are many young people, especially those who are HIV-positive, suffering great mental stress.

Many young people are living under great fear, thinking we are much more vulnerable than other people. Rosa Mahlasera

Various self-proclaimed doctors have preached stories, saying that if you have an underlying disease such as HIV, the probability of surviving the coronavirus is staggeringly low. While it is true that HIV attacks the immune system, making one more vulnerable to illness, these stories neglect to add that those who are on effective HIV treatment can have healthy immune systems just as capable of fighting the coronavirus as someone without HIV. Thus, many young people are living under great fear, thinking we are much more vulnerable than other people, and without the knowledge and confidence that there are tools they can use to take charge of their health and their life.

With so much information coming from different sources, a young person living with HIV who is trying very hard to adhere well to medication can be affected mentally, and may even lose hope. Thinking, “if I contract the coronavirus, and I already have another virus in me…” It is tormenting.

The young person I met who was worried because of all these stories was not in a good state of mental health.

If we can declare victory in the mind and keep each other safe and supported, then physically, we will also succeed. Rosa Mahlasera

As a youth ambassador, it was my role to offer this young person as much support as I could, so that she will manage to cope with both HIV and her worries about COVID-19. I managed to explain the situation on the ground: it is not always automatic, as people think, that if you are HIV-positive and you contract the coronavirus, you will succumb to the same. There are many people who have contracted the coronavirus with underlying health complications who have survived.

Thus, as young persons living with HIV, we can also defeat the coronavirus. Together we can fight this disease, especially in our minds. If we can declare victory in the mind and keep each other safe and supported, then physically, we will also succeed.

Stay safe: practice social distancing, sanitize, and wear face masks.

We are victors, not victims.

Rosa Mahlasera
EGPAF Ambassador and youth counselor, Zimbabwe