- HIV Related Stigma has no place in our community.
- HIV affects our friends, family and coworkers, they should all be supported with respect and dignity.
- Educating the Healthcare worker and the community the basic about HIV and HIV Related Stigma
- Sharing the facts with others, dispelling myths and common misinformation about HIV
- Speaking out and fight the negative attitudes that able to kill the People Living with HIV.
- Help us : SPACES (stigma-free spaces in medical scenarios)
“HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination refers to prejudice, negative attitudes, abuse and maltreatment directed at people living with HIV and AIDS.”
Impact of HIV related Stigma:
1. being shunned by family, friends and the wider community
2. poor treatment in healthcare and education settings
3. an erosion of rights
4. psychological damage
5. negative effect on the success of HIV testing and treatment efforts.
6. Afraid of early screening and access HIV testing, treatment and care. T
Factors that contribute to HIV/AIDS-related stigma especially among healthcare worker:
- HIV infection is associated with behaviors (such as homosexuality, drug addiction, prostitution or promiscuity) that are already stigmatized in many societies.
- Lack of knowledge on how HIV is transmitted.
- Believe HIV is result of moral fault (such as promiscuity or ‘deviant sex’) that deserves to be punished.**
*World Health Organization, “Towards Universal Access: Scaling up priority HIV/AIDS interventions in the health sector: Progress report 2008.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HIV AND AIDS?
HIV (or Human Immunodeficiency Virus)
- is a virus that attacks your body’s built-in defence against disease and illness by infecting the very cells which would normally fight off infection.
- You may not look or feel sick for years, but you can still pass the virus on to other people.
- Without treatment, HIV can progress and cause Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), the most advanced stage of infection.
- is a clinical diagnosis that indicates the most advanced stage of an HIV infection.
- AImmune system becomes too weak to fight off serious illnesses and can lead to life-threatening infections.
HIV can and does affect all people.
It is what you do, not who you are that puts you at risk
- anyone who has had unprotected sex,
- who has shared needles,
- has had a partner who has done either of these things,
- whose partner’s other partners may have done these things, may be at risk.
- get from the infected blood/organ donation.
- baby of mother with HIV not treated well during pregnancy, delevery or breastfeeding
HIV infection can happen when HIV Virus bodily fluids enter a person’s bloodstream.
5 body fluids contain enough HIV to lead to infection:
- blood
- semen (including pre-cum)
- rectal fluid
- vaginal fluid
- breast milk.
The main ways that HIV can get infected others are:
1) through unprotected sex
2) by sharing needles or other equipment to inject drugs
3) by sharing needles or ink to get a tattoo or body piercing, sharing acupuncture needles
4) from a mother to child during pregnancy, birth or breast-feeding*
HIV cannot pass through:
- healthy, unbroken skin.
- kissing
- hugging
- shaking hands
- sharing personal object
- sharing food or water.
There is no vaccine or cure for HIV, but there are effective treatments.
- If left untreated, HIV damages your immune system, leaving you vulnerable to serious diseases.
- Antiretroviral Treatment : uses a combination of drugs to fight the virus by blocking its ability to infect immune cells and continue replicating.
