HIV-positive woman shines in AIDS activism

Hard as it is to believe, an HIV-positive Malawian woman, Catherine Phiri, is happier and more responsible than ever before as she provides comfort, hope, and optimism to others who have been diagnosed with her same condition. Phiri confidently says she has no time for worry and no room in her mind for despair, but instead lives her life to the fullest.

"I am happier than many Malawians, some of whom are even HIV negative," says Phiri. "I have no time to grumble about financial or political problems. I spend all my time caring, counselling, and offering messages of hope to those who think that having HIV or AIDS is the end of the road."

Because HIV/AIDS has no known cure, many people with the virus tend to have fatalistic attitudes due to psychological stress, stigmatisation, and lack of confidence, she explained. This problem is compounded by a lack of access to counselling services. In the absence of a cure, the best remedy for coping with HIV/AIDS is to have access to effective pre- and post-test counselling. Access to testing and counselling services enables individuals to become more responsible about their lives, regardless of a positive or negative HIV status, says Phiri.

Ms Phiri was born on August 8,1962, and is now the mother of two adolescents aged 15 and 13. She is a nurse by profession and had worked for the public service for some 10 years before resigning in 1990 out of despair, frustration, and hopelessness when she learned that she was HIV positive.

Her decision to reveal her sero-status publicly later in the same year, and at a time when few Malawians spoke openly about HIV and AIDS, only worked to subject her to discrimination.

"When I was told that I was HIV positive, I became frustrated and afraid," recalls Phiri. "I thought I was already dead and that was the end of my life. However, through effective counselling, I realised that I could still live well through a good diet, protected sex, positive thinking, and regular exercise. I managed to hold myself up high, and regretted that I had subjected myself to emotional torture."

Phiri attended counselling sessions at the Lilongwe-based Malawi AIDS Counselling Centre (MACRO). "The advice I received on positive living, and the psychological power that I attained, won my victory over HIV," she says, adding that the counselling made her realise that HIV was not an immediate death sentence, and that negative thinking and pessimism are ineffective emotions when dealing with HIV infection.

"I realised that, once my mind has been empowered and all the negative views about HIV are overcome, there is less stigma," says Phiri. That inspired her to embark on a plan to assist others infected and affected with HIV. "I wanted to remove the fear that people have concerning HIV/AIDS," she recalls. "Many people resist going for tests because of the culture of fear that has been created around the disease through sensational language, negative connotations, or the use of threatening metaphors to describe HIV/AIDS."

In1994, Phiri founded Salima HIV/AIDS Support Organisation (SASO) to give a "human face and voice" to the epidemic whose spread is facilitated by a culture of silence that surrounds it. SASO mobilises voluntary community support and home-based care for scores of sick clients. The organisation also provides care and support for over 1,500 orphans, and offers HIV/AIDS pre- and post counselling.

According to Phiri, HIV/AIDS education has helped many people break the culture of secrecy among those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. "Such counselling also helps prolong the lives of those who are HIV positive," she asserts. "I am a shining example of a person who has benefited from good counselling. Had I not received proper counselling, I believe I might have committed suicide, but I know life goes on with or without HIV/AIDS."

In an impoverished and donor-dependent Malawi, many people are unaware of their sero-status due to lack of voluntary counselling and testing services, particularly in rural areas. In Malawi's three main cities of Blantyre, Lilongwe and Mzuzu, people flock to centres set up by the Malawi AIDS Counselling and Resource Centres (MACRO) where pre-test, testing, and post-testing counselling services are offered.

The success of SASO is attributed to Phiri's unflinching commitment to HIV/AIDS activism. Despite prevailing high levels of poverty in Malawi, Phiri used her personal money and resources to initiate the development of this active voluntary counselling and testing centre in rural Malawi. SASO now receives funding from several donor agencies, and provides other services as well as voluntary counselling and testing.

It was no surprise when, in 2000, Ms Phiri received an award from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in recognition of her fighting spirit. "Catherine Phiri is a model," said Hazwell Kanjaye, an official from the UNDP country office in Malawi. "Through good counselling, she accepted what she is and went ahead to offer effective counselling services to others." The UNDP official indicates that effective counselling makes those who are HIV positive or negative accept their sero-status without rejection, negative attitudes, or fatalistic behaviour.

Kanjaye says others should emulate the shining example of Phiri, who never condemned herself after being diagnosed as being HIV positive. Instead, she stood with her head high and spearheaded the fight against HIV/AIDS without relying on donor assistance, he says. He adds that voluntary counselling and testing centres (VCT) should have experts on hand to deal effectively with sensitive issues such as suicide. "While no one from SASO committed suicide, it is sad to hear that some clients who undertake these services in the cities of Blantyre and Lilongwe do," observes Kanjaye.

Aware that only a few VCT centres are established to cope with the response to HIV/AIDS, Phiri collaborated with fellow activists to establish the Malawi Network with HIV/AIDS (MANET+) in 1997. The organisation has been instrumental in promoting, co-ordinating, and representing People Living With HIV/AIDS support groups in Malawi. "We formed MANET+ after realising that only a few organisations exist to work with HIV positive people," she observes." Most organisations tend to rely on donor funding and revert to the usual business of "educating the masses on how they can prevent HIV/AIDS."

In the lakeshore district of Salima where poverty reigns supreme among those infected with HIV/AIDS, Phiri does not preach much about life-prolonging drugs sold at exorbitant prices on the market. Rather, "for those who are HIV-positive, I emphasize a good diet, and avoiding re-infection through protected sex. This is easy here because most people are fishermen and farmers....so there is plenty of protein, carbohydrates, and foods rich in vitamins."

Much has changed since Phiri disclosed her HIV-positive status. An effective counselling and civic education has slowly broken the culture of secrecy. "Stigmatisation and discrimination just because one is HIV positive is an old song here in Salima," reflects Phiri. "People just regard HIV/AIDS as any other disease which must be managed with caution and responsibility."