When 54-year-old Ahmed Ali Moumin
learned he was HIV positive, his world fell apart. He didn’t know what
the future would bring, and he feared death would be looming
around the corner. Now, seven years later, Ahmed is the president
of the first association established in Djibouti for people living
with HIV/AIDS. With its 322 members, the organization called
Oui à la Vie (Yes to Life), is
the biggest association of people living with HIV in the country. It
is one of the recipients of the Global Fund US$ 12 million grant
to Djibouti.
“Being HIV positive is not a death sentence any
longer”, Ahmed says, “Thanks to antiretroviral treatment, we can lead pretty much a normal life”.
Carrying the virus himself, Ahmed realizes more than anyone else that there is still a big stigma
about the disease in Djibouti.
“The lack of information about HIV/AIDS among Djibouti's population
is still one of the greatest challenges faced in the fight against
HIV,” Ahmed
says. “Although general knowledge about the disease has improved a
little over the last years, we still have a long way to go until
we are completely accepted into society. Until that time comes, Oui à
la Vie and
the other associations of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs)
in Djibouti like Nouvel Espoir (Renewed Hope), will work
hard to give all the support needed to PLWHAs and to break this
stigma once and for all,” he
says.
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