WHO's Global HIV Programme is glad to showcase a series of videos on HIV and COVID-19 on the occasion of World AIDS Day 2020. The videos were produced and published by partner organizations. This is the story of Dorothy Mokgomotsi from South Africa.
Dorothy Mokgomotsi lives in Ga-Rankuwa View in Tshwane, South Africa. She was diagnosed as HIV positive in 2005. She is married to a man to whom she disclosed her status when they were dating. He embraced her, and they live as a serodiscordant couple. Dorothy heard about Project PrEP, the first real world project to roll out pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)* to adolescent girls and young women in South Africa.
She offered her house as a venue for Project PrEP’s mobile clinic teams during South Africa’s hard lockdowns during the first wave of COVID-19. Her daughter and niece have started using PrEP, and Dorothy plays an active role in ensuring they stay on PrEP – because as she puts it, “they have this option to prevent HIV and, as mothers, we must encourage them to do so”.
Dorothy’s message to parents is “Let’s talk to our kids. Let’s not let what happened to us, happen to our kids”. Dorothy talks to parents and young people about the empowering benefits of PrEP in ensuring an HIV-free generation, and encourages those who are living with HIV to disclose their status to their loved ones, so they can make informed decisions about their own lives and enjoy the support and encouragement of their families. Dorothy continues to welcome the mobile clinic to her home to enable more young people in her community to access PrEP and other services for sexual and reproductive health.
* Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a course of HIV drugs taken by HIV-negative people to protect them against HIV infection.
Source: Wits RHI, AVIWE