Stigma stands stubborn after 40 years of HIV
Wednesday, May 22, 2024 | 1220 Views |
First line: The primary defence remains to get tested, know your status and get on treatment PIC: CUMBRIACRACK.COM
“After I delivered the baby at the hospital, no one wanted to touch her, I was the one who was doing everything by myself even though there were older people at the house.
“I realised that people were stigmatising me. They helped me with nothing and I even ended up giving up a lot!
It is not uncommon in this part of the world for parents to actually punish their children when they show signs of depression associating it with issues of indiscipline, and as a result, the poor child will be lashed or given some kind of punishment. We have had many suicide cases in the country and sadly some of the cases included children and young adults. We need to start looking into issues of mental health with the seriousness it...