Global Lessons, Local Actions: Muluba Habanyama

Muluba Habanyama grew up with HIV, living both with the virus as well as the stigma that it elicits from every day people. And this activist, journalist, researcher and educator (among many other hats) questions if society has come as far as science has in the response to HIV/AIDS.
“When HIV first came about it affected a lot of men who have sex with men, Black women - and society just didn't care about those populations,” says Muluba. “And you're looking at it now, and as a Black woman living with HIV - I'm not sure if society cares about me as much as it does my counterparts.”
Stigma is still rampant, and it’s the driving force behind Canada’s HIV epidemic. It stops people from getting tested. From having open conversations with their friends, family, and healthcare providers. It causes healthcare inequities to grow.
That’s why projects like the OHTN’s Positive News are so important. Positive News is a series of bite-sized news programming with “the aim…to get more people on treatment, get more people tested. And ultimately, beat HIV stigma.”
Links
positivenews.ca/