There was an edgy calm as she walked to the front of the packed room. She was not initially billed to speak at the programme. Who was she and what did she have to say, queried the silent room. In a minute, she stood facing the gathering with a lifted chin and said, "I am an HIV positive person". Ignoring the surprises on the faces of the people after the statement, she continued with an even surging confidence. She looked well-built and beautiful, and nothing showed that she had HIV. She wore a T-shirt that had the inscription "TB is Curable, Seek Early Treatment". For the purposes of this article, she will be called Aba. "I am here to tell you to seek treatment for your disease and not to be afraid to tell others about it,” Aba stated. The room of about 30 persons included tuberculosis and People Living with HIV and AIDS (PLHIV), who had gathered to be trained as advocates for communities in the Ajumako Enyan Essiam and Mfantseman districts in the Central Region of Ghana at the instance of the Hope for Future Generation (HFFG), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), with support from the Stop TB Partnership of the World Health Organisation in Geneva. "We have to rise and give hope to the people who are suffering from HIV," she said. She said it was only PLHIV who could change people's perception of the disease; make them appreciate the reality and work to prevent contracting it. Aba told the gathering, which was now more comfortable, about how family members took her to prayer camps and fetish houses in search of a remedy when symptoms of the virus started about three years ago. Among a society which believed in superstition, it was more acceptable to say that the disease was a curse rather than a sexually transmitted one. "My family did not accept that I had HIV and needed antiretroviral drugs. They insisted that it was a curse which I was to be freed from. It was time now to accept that HIV and AIDS were real, but to also understand that there was hope", she stated. She told the people that it was no longer fearful to stand up and tell people to be cautious and live more responsible lives using themselves as living examples. "There are so many misconceptions that needed to be corrected" she stressed, with a sense of urgency, adding that we had very important roles to play in the campaign against the HIV and AIDS menace. She said she visited schools, churches and mosques to educate the people on the disease, on how to prevent contracting it and how to deal with it if one had already contracted it. "I don't charge for these services, but the organisers give me some money as per diem and it helps me buy my drugs," she said. She asked that antiretroviral drugs be made more accessible and affordable for all. The Central Region has 2.5 per cent HIV prevalence rate and stakeholders believe there must be a turnaround in the HIV/AIDS campaign trends to achieve behavioural change. The HIV and AIDS Focal Person of the region, Mr Ishmael Ogyefo, underscored the importance of the PLWHIV joining and helping educate the communities about the disease. The Executive Director of HFFG, Mrs Cecilia Ledonu-Senoo, said five advocacy clubs would be formed to educate the communities on TB and HIV. The District Director of Health Services for Ajumako Enyan Essiam, Madam Adriana De Heer, urged all to remove the stigma associated with the HIV disease and encourage more people living with the virus to come out and share their experiences. For a long time, since the virus was first detected, PLWHIV had veiled themselves from a highly critical world and its venom of stigmatisation. Now, there is hope and PLWHIV are beginning to remove their veils. There is a face under the veil and many PLWHIV are ready to remove the veils. The stigmatisation must stop. Source: Daily Graphic