Livey van Wyk was open about her HIV status
I was 17 years old and pregnant with my son when I learned I was HIV positive. The only thing I knew about HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, was that it was a death sentence. I thought I was going to die, painfully and alone.
Everyone, even my mother, rejected me. I was forced to leave my home. My principal told me I couldn’t come back to school, because I would infect the others. That was my breaking point. I loved school.
My grandmother was the only person willing to hug me when no one wanted to touch me. She loved me, unconditionally, and took me in.
In 2000, the year before I contracted HIV, one in 100 AIDS-related deaths, globally, was an adolescent. Nearly two decades later, the problem has worsened. In 2015, adolescents accounted for one in 25 AIDS-related deaths.
These numbers are extremely alarming. Last year, roughly 1.8-million young people between the ages of 10 and 19 were living with HIV around the world — up 28% from 2005. Of those infected, half live in just five countries — South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, India and Tanzania.
Two hours from the capital Windhoek, my village in Namibia would not escape the invasive spread of this disease. Thankfully, I was able to enroll in a UNICEF-funded programme that provided the vital antiretroviral treatment I needed to survive and helped prevent my son from being infected with HIV. It also gave me courage to carry on.
I would leave the clinic and I knew I had something to live for. I decided to wake up every morning and face whatever challenge came my way and continue to live my life and not allow people to take away my life. I wanted to educate myself. I thought I wanted to become a journalist and a lawyer. I had a vision for my life.
I then began to educate the village that once shunned me about HIV and AIDS, and worked to encourage and motivate others who were HIV positive and suffering from AIDS to fight for themselves, for their lives. Eventually, they asked me to stand for them and lead them as Witvlei’s youngest mayor at 26, less than a decade after I was diagnosed.
Today, my son Remi is a teenager and thriving. I am a public relations officer for the Namibian-German Special Initiative Programme and a Mandela Washington Fellow for Young African Leaders.
But the story of HIV and AIDS is bigger than me, and I am committed to use my voice to tell stories that may not otherwise be told.
So much has been done to dramatically reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmissions of HIV, but we cannot go backwards in the fight against this virus. Globally, the increase in HIV rates among young people is sobering. No progress has been made in reducing new HIV infections among the 10- to 19-year-olds — especially among adolescent girls. We need more vigilance for this age group, much more.
And for those who are HIV positive, I implore you to live positively and know you’re not alone. We will support you.
My hope — our hope — is for zero new infections among young people. I hope for an HIV-free generation. For every child, hope.