For example, there is pressure from all quarters to emphasize the role of survivors, particularly parentless children, rather than caring for the ill. Yet in my community, it is in the interest of survivors to take care of the sick and infirm. You cannot separate the two functions, and therefore we must link the care of our ill with the care of the grieving. The costs incurred in helping a person to live positively with the virus is nothing compared with what that person gives back to the family and communities for the remaining part of his or her life. HIV knows no boundaries.
All people are equal in front of the virus.
Those of us who exist on the margins of society are more vulnerable, and when the stigma of HIV is added to the stigma of poverty, they suffer a double disadvantage. However, we must act quickly to take advantage of the epidemic to advocate for change now that HIV has given us common ground. Equal partnership and mutual support ought to be the guiding principle in all human relationships.