Why I’m a citizen journalist

I was born and have grown up with HIV. I became an activist when I was 18 as I couldn’t accept the way people living with HIV were treated as dying victims, not living human beings. This was after being denied an international science scholarship because it was deemed to be a ‘waste of money’ to fund an HIV positive person, who was going to die.

Since then, I have founded a civil society organisation in Rwanda called the Kigali Hope Association and represented young people living with HIV at a national, regional and international level, winning awards for my work.

I became a Key Correspondent because I like writing. I am inspired by my grandfather, Professor Naigiziki Xavier, who was a novelist of his time, as well as a human rights activist and free thinker. I want to walk into his footsteps and write to raise awareness of the harm caused by AIDS-related stigma, discrimination, hate and criminalisation.

Education breaks down stigma

I am passionate about citizen journalism because I believe people need to be educated. Many people discriminate against people living with HIV because they don’t have enough information. Citizen journalism provides a global platform which can attract a wide audience, educating people and informing them about what is happening around the world.

It’s a specific and intellectual way of influencing policy changes and tackle stigma, discrimination and laws which turn people living with HIV into criminals. By raising awareness about the harmful effects of these laws, we can bring about change in the short and long term.

I am also passionate about advocacy because HIV and AIDS are part of my life. I haven’t known anything different from living with HIV. And I strongly believe that no other person can be as articulate about issues affecting me as I can.

Frontline of HIV response

When I first became an activist, I was disturbed by the way people living with HIV were not consulted over programmes for them. I believe people living with HIV should lead every stage of HIV-related programmes: from the design, development and implementation to the monitoring and evaluation. Without the greater involvement of people living with HIV, putting us at the frontline of the response to the epidemic, we will not achieve an HIV-free generation.

I want to reach a wide audience and share how people living with HIV feel, what we have to go through and how we can increase our involvement in all AIDS-related programmes and projects. I believe that if we stand up for our dignity, share our stories and advocate for positive change on issues affecting us, we can fight stigma and discrimination.

It’s high time we erased the outdated picture of a dying person with AIDS from the 80s and 90s. I want to paint another picture of people living with HIV today, showing us as people who are responsible, successful and willing to contribute to ending the pandemic.

Holding governments to account

I hope HIV activists will influence the UN General Assembly to abolish institutional AIDS-related stigma, discrimination, hate and criminalisation. I hope we can communicate to the world that discriminatory laws create obstacles to achieving the Millennium Development Goal to combat HIV and AIDS. And I hope that activists can keep up the pressure on governments to adopt laws based on human rights, ending violations of the rights of people living with HIV and sexual minorities – and ending gender-based violence.

We need to hold governments accountable and even request sanctions for countries still persecuting and criminalising people living with HIV and sexual minorities.

We need a fair and understanding world where people are more and more tolerant towards each other, because human being are the only species that have discovered that if they care for each other they can survive. Only by caring for each other can we end the pandemic and create an HIV-free future.