Blog

Being disabled, HIV positive and having treatment for tuberculosis is a challenge that Ellen Banda is all too familiar with. more →

Born with HIV and living on the streets in Zimbabwe is a double challenge to say the least, but this was the situation for Anashe* who was orphaned in 2007, when he was 12. more →

In Uganda, tuk tuks are helping healthcare workers reach young people who are most vulnerable to HIV with sexual and reproductive health services. more →

In Uganda, many young people lack access to quality information on sexual and reproductive health, but a project called Link Up is helping to change this. more →

What’s the best way for young people to talk about HIV in an urban slum in Kenya? For Maxfacta, an organisation working in an informal settlement in Mathare, it is social media. more →

Mandla is a bright young man who knows his right to access HIV services, but homophobic attitudes in his community prevented him going to a health clinic for a long time. more →

See how a young man who contracted HIV as a result of injecting heroin is thriving today. This is the first in a series of photo stories about people living with HIV. more →

It’s a cold April morning, yet tension in the room full of advocates for the rights of sexual minority groups, makes it feel like a hot summer afternoon. more →

When I came to the UK to study, I was told the HIV medication I was on, was not available. It’s quite ironic, considering the comments I’ve heard in the UK about HIV treatment in Zimbabwe. more →

It was Saalim’s fortieth day as a city street thief, and he stole because he needed the cash to buy his daily dose of heroin. The day ended with a close brush with death. more →

Abiti speaks to our correspondent in Malawi about her struggle to live with HIV as a physically-challenged mother of three children. more →

On World TB Day (24 March) read Hope’s chronicle of life as a sex worker and being diagnosed with TB, then later HIV. more →

On 14 February, Valentine’s Day, more than 50 young Burundians lined up to get condoms at a youth centre in the capital, Bujumbura. more →

On International Women’s Day (8 March), leaders around the world are taking pledges on issues of gender equality; HIV and sex work are issues on which they must take action. more →

Watch Christine’s story and find out how she learned to negotiate for safer sex through the support of the Uganda Link Up project. more →

Find out what youth participants say are the challenges and solutions for meeting the family planning needs of young people. more →

For Bashil Masiga, 23, who was born with HIV and relies on antiretrovirals to live a healthy and productive life, going to his local pharmacy to find nothing but painkillers is terrifying. more →

Ahead of the International Conference on Family Planning, read about lack of information and access to contraceptives leading to many girls in Uganda having unwanted pregnancies. more →

A stage full of young people buzzes with energy. A woman stands with a guitar, strums and sings passionately into a microphone. more →

On International Human Rights Day, read Junior’s story about persecution and torture on the basis of his sexual orientation. more →

For young people living with HIV, adolescence can be extra challenging, because the universal hurdles of growing up are aggravated by the physical, social, and emotional toll of living with the disease. more →

When I was invited to become an HIV peer counsellor for a youth organisation, I was nervous because I had developed a skin condition, and I’d lost confidence in my appearance. more →

When 33-year-old Zimbabwean Michael Mheredzi heard about a fun day coming to his town, where he could also have the opportunity to be circumcised, he was intrigued. more →

Whenever issues come up in life that are hard to share with family, friends or even health professionals, people in Ethiopia dial three popular digits – 952. more →

Ndaula was born with HIV and is now an advocate for sexual and reproductive rights and services, including family planning – issues he says concern young men as well as young women. more →

Maternal mortality ratios are a strong reflection of the overall effectiveness of a country’s health systems, and in Malawi the lifetime risk of maternal death is one in 34. more →

At one time, Masida Mhone, a young woman living with HIV in Malawi, couldn’t bear the stigma she faced from her peers and community. Today she has a much more hopeful story. more →

In South Africa, young men who have sex with men are increasingly exploring their sexuality at university, without always understanding the HIV and other health risks they are taking. more →

My story is an amazing story of growing with HIV and I want to encourage a generation of people born with HIV to speak up, share their experiences and know that they are not alone. more →

In Zimbabwe, many men are learning about the benefits of male circumcision through a government drive that hopes to see 80 per cent of men voluntarily circumcised by the end of 2018. more →

The global vision to end AIDS by 2030 requires a strong rights-based approach, yet the new draft UNAIDS strategy makes only fleeting reference to FGM and child marriage. more →

As UN member states meet to discuss the post-2015 sustainable development goals is there a danger that young people most at risk from HIV will be left behind by the new agenda? more →

Over 350 researchers, gender activists, policy makers, practitioners and survivors from around the world convened in South Africa for the Sexual Violence Research Initiative Forum this week. more →

Samantha Nyamayedenga explores how disclosing one’s HIV status to others, whether family, close friends or the community can benefit a young person living with HIV. more →

Gautam Yadav catches up with Harmless Hugs’ team member Shashank Kashyap for the inside story on the LGBT flash mob that hit the headlines. more →

Around the world many young people remain unaware of their HIV status, which is the second biggest cause of adolescent deaths. But in Burundi, young people are leading the way to address this issue. more →

In Uganda, eliminating the transmission of HIV from mother to newborn child is no longer a dream but a possibility. Yet it remains one of the country’s greatest challenges. more →

Amina Abdullahi contemplated suicide after discovering she was both pregnant and living with HIV, but after giving birth she feels differently and urges others not to give up hope. more →

Amnesty International’s new policy on sex work is an important milestone, but the fight for sex worker rights is far from over. more →

When the United States made same-sex marriage a constitutional right, I celebrated alongside thousands in the global community by changing my Facebook profile to the colours of the rainbow. more →

Susiku Mwana’gombe has led an extraordinary life since embarking on a programme to help people living with HIV and orphaned children in Zambia’s tourist city, Livingstone. more →

When Dorothy fell pregnant at 18 it was not planned and at the antenatal clinic she found out she was HIV positive. After struggling with the traumatic news, she changed her life around. more →

Poverty and the need to provide for their children, is causing a rise in women turning to sex work in Zimbabwe, despite the fact the profession places them at higher risk of contracting HIV. more →

My name is Sungano Bondayi, I was born in 1989 in Zimbabwe, and I was born with HIV. This is a digitial media story I made about my life. more →

In Kenya, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are facing increasing discrimination. Here Dennis shares his story of dealing with stigma in health facilities and in his community. more →

Listening to the voices of young people is one of the major themes of the post-2015 development agenda, but does this include a diversity of voices? more →

On the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia, a gay man from Cameroon speaks out about how homophobia forced him to live a lie and flee his community. more →

As an orphan living with HIV Alberic had no one to help him with his emergency hospital fees, but then his friends stepped in. more →

At the age of 27 Tatenda* is a successful business entrepreneur, but he regrets the fact he never got to discuss sex and sexuality issues with his parents when growing up. more →

Lack of information about HIV almost cost Aine and his wife their lives. Now he has set up a support group to ensure others don’t face the stigma he did when first diagnosed. more →

After being raped and contracting HIV, Amina knew she would become an outcast in her village. This is her story. more →

Kanze was raped when she was 13, leaving her pregnant and infected with HIV. To end adolescent AIDS governments and civil society groups must work together to address the sexual vulnerability of young people. more →

The son of the late Auxillia Chimusoro, who was the first woman to publicly disclose her HIV positive status in Zimbabwe in 1989, is ensuring his mother’s work lives on. more →

Key Correspondent Lucy Maroncha is one of 15 journalists currently being honored for their reporting on sexual health and rights. more →

This year, International Women’s Day (8 March) is celebrating women who ‘Make it Happen’, highlighting the achievements of women while calling for greater equality. more →

Although the cost of HIV treatment has significantly declined over the last decade, access to comprehensive HIV services remains low especially in Africa. Civil society must step up its game to change this. more →

Due to the success of antiretroviral programmes in Malawi, many more children born with HIV are not only reaching, but also thriving in adolescence. more →

When Zeinab left her home village in Northern Kenya to look for a job, she had one thing in mind; work hard to help her struggling family. But her plans were destroyed by something that would keep her from home for the rest of her life. more →

Adolescents across Southern Africa face barriers to HIV prevention and treatment, contributing to increasing AIDS-related deaths in this age group. more →

Stigma, poverty and lack of opportunities is creating a vicious cycle in Uganda, blighting the chances of young people and putting the health of the next generation at risk. more →

In a rural school in India, 32 children living with HIV have faced devastating discrimination from their community, fortunately the school’s prinicpal is protecting their right to education. more →

Young people often lack information on sexual health, and when you see this impacting teens in your neighbourhood it’s time to take action. more →

The Ethiopian coffee ceremony tradition helps strengthen community bonds - health workers are also discovering it is a perfect opportunity to discuss difficult topics. more →

To her, the decision to test for HIV was a forced one. Forced by the fact her husband left her because she was growing thin, always feeling tired and occasionally falling sick. more →