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| Pacifique, who was born HIV-positive, has finally found a safe space. |
This was originally published on the ONE Blog on Dec. 4, 2014.
Pacifique is a 20-year-old
student living in Bujumbura, Burundi, who found out he was born HIV-positive
when he was 10 years old. He had been taking anti-retroviral medication for a
year without knowing what it was for.
“My mum refused to disclose
my status to me,” recalled Pacifique. “She told me I had a heart problem but
that I would get better. I was frightened when I found out. I thought I would
never get married. It hurt me to think I would never have children.”
Pacifique is hardly alone. There
were an estimated 2.1 million adolescents living with HIV in 2012, with more
than 80% of them living in sub-Saharan Africa. Many don’t know their HIV
status. HIV is now the number one cause of adolescent mortality in Africa and
the second biggest in the world (UNAIDS defines adolescents as ages 10-19).
Between 2005 and 2012, HIV-related deaths among adolescents increased by 50%.
