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Ending the Stigma Surrounding HIV/AIDS in South Africa

Global Citizen Dec 3, 2019
This article is deemed a must-read by one or more of our expert collaborators.
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Ending the Stigma Surrounding HIV/AIDS in South Africa Giving Compass
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Giving Compass’ Take:

• Despite the fact that early detection of HIV/AIDS is a large factor in treating the disease, shame and stigma create a barrier for individuals in South Africa to seek treatment.

• What are the challenges in ending this stigma? What avenues can medical professionals take to increase early detection?

• Learn about how VR films are a new tool to fight stigma around HIV testing.


For some reason, nobody wants to say HIV/AIDS in South Africa. Instead, we refer to Zet 3, to amagama amathathu (meaning “the three letters”); we call it “the three ships”, or say that the person diagnosed has “stepped on a cable”, among other common euphemisms for the virus.

While some argue that these euphemisms make light of a heavy subject, it’s quite evident that it really stems from the shame that we still attach to HIV/AIDS.

In South Africa, World Aids Day was first launched in 1996 to help raise awareness about HIV/AIDS. The virus was sweeping the world and it was a terrifying time due to lack of information about HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and the disease itself.

The day — held annually on Dec. 1 — is now more celebratory of the great strides that have been made in combating the virus; like the fact that, between 2005 and 2009, only 5% of people living with HIV died from causes linked to AIDS — down from 78% of people between 1988 and 1995.

But it is also dedicated to commemorating those who have lost their lives to HIV and AIDS related illnesses.

My older brother is one of these people.

One of the key messages in global efforts to tackle and end the epidemic of HIV/AIDS is that early detection saves lives.

In fact, the World Health Organisation (WHO) advises that starting treatment as soon as you find out that you are HIV+ can help you stay healthy and enjoy a normal life.

HIV didn’t kill my brother, he died because he didn’t want to live with the virus. It was only after his death that we learnt the full story of what had happened.

Read the full article about stigma of HIV/AIDS in South Africa by Itumeleng Letsoalo at Global Citizen.

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Diseases and Cures is a complex topic, and others found these selections from the Impact Giving archive from Giving Compass to be good resources.

  • This article is deemed a must-read by one or more of our expert collaborators.
    Click here for more.
    Nonprofit’s Innovative Investing Helps Cure a Childhood Disease

    Giving Compass' Take: • WeWork reports on a partnership aiming to help cure Epidermolysis bullosa (a debilitating childhood illness) through the mechanisms of venture philanthropy. • What can other venture philanthropists learn from the EB Research Partnership's pivot from a more traditional nonprofit model? Could it apply to research for other rare diseases? • Here's more about the high risk and reward paradigm when venture philanthropy is applied to Alzheimer's research.  It takes most nonprofits dedicated to finding a cure for debilitating diseases — like cystic fibrosis or, in the case of the federal government, HIV/AIDS — decades to discover a breakthrough treatment or get a drug approved, often after raising billions of dollars. The EB Research Partnership is on its way after only nine years. Epidermolysis bullosa, or EB, is a potentially deadly genetic skin condition. Those afflicted are missing an essential protein that binds the skin’s layers — without it, the skin blisters and tears, leading to severe pain, permanent scarring, and disfigurement. Because there is no cure, doctors typically tell parents of children born with EB (1 in 200 American babies each year) to try to make life as normal as possible. That can mean spending hours every day wrapping sores with bandages to prevent infection. EB Research Partnership’s progress — $25 million raised and 50 research projects funded, half of which are active — is the result of its innovative venture-philanthropy model that cofounder Alexander Silver says was “borne out of a mistake I swore we’d never make again.” Soon after their son, Jackson, was born with a severe form of EB in 2007, Alexander and his wife, Jamie, created the Jackson Gabriel Silver Foundation to fund research to help find a cure for the disease. It didn’t take long for the family to realize they had made a mistake adopting a traditional nonprofit model — relying on grants to fund research — after the foundation’s first project ended up in limbo due to organizational disarray. Read the full article about innovative investing to cure a childhood disease by Vivian Giang at WeWork.


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Diseases and Cures is an important topic. Other members found these Giving Funds, Charitable Organizations and Projects aggregated by Giving Compass to be relevant to individuals with a passion for Diseases and Cures.

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