HIV: African perspective

Patrick Rwankole contracted HIV from his first girlfriend

The Terrence Higgins Trust Aids charity is planning a major campaign to overcome prejudice towards HIV sufferers in Britain's African communities.
BBC News Online's Community Affairs reporter Cindi John spoke to one man about his experiences.

"I remember I thought straightaway: 'I'm just going to run to the station and throw myself under a train'.

"Suicide was the first thing on my mind," recalls Ugandan Patrick Rwankole, speaking about the day six years ago when he got his HIV diagnosis.

The 35-year-old had not even suspected he might be at risk until his girlfriend died unexpectedly and suddenly of pneumonia.

He tried to avoid dwelling on the cause of her death but knew he would not have peace of mind until he had taken an Aids test.

Some people believe you get HIV because you've done something wrong so the devil has cursed you.

Patrick Rwankole

Mr Rwankole said during the first months after his diagnosis he nearly gave up completely on himself.

"During that time I was in another world, completely lost had to give up work, stop my studies. My house was a mess, alcohol, cigarettes all over the place.

"I was upside down. It felt like I had a burden which was so heavy for me to carry. I felt I would never overcome it," he said.

He eventually shared his secret with a friend who to his relief was sympathetic and understanding.

Positive action

Mr Rwankole said he was lucky that the Ugandan community is well educated about HIV and Aids and felt it would have been different if he had been a member of some other African communities.

"It is a very big problem for the majority of African people. However, a few communities like Ugandan, Zambian and Zimbabwean are more informed.

"But west African communities particularly have not accepted that HIV is a problem for them but the figures there are increasing.

"In certain communities it would be impossible for people to say they're HIV positive because then the whole community would shun them, people are still very ignorant.

"Some believe if you share a cup or shake hands it can be spread, some think it's because you've done something wrong so the devil has cursed you. There are so many myths around it," he said.

Decided to act

Mr Rwankole decided to do something to counter ignorance about HIV and Aids. With other HIV-positive people he set up a group, the Positive Action Project, to share their experiences.

"In the African context, to see is to believe. When somebody hears me say 'I am HIV-positive' they will believe it more than somebody coming in with statistics," he explained.

"What we want to do is to work with agencies involved with hard to reach communities, we as positive people want to explain to them 'look guys this thing is not only my problem' and persuade them to try and avoid it themselves and support friends who might be diagnosed with HIV," he added.

Moving on

Mr Rwankole believed he was fortunate in that he was doing well on his medication and was generally healthy.

He said he longer need anti-depressants but still had bouts of anxiety

"If I get a stomach upset then you think 'Is this the beginning of a problem?' but that's natural, I suppose. I'm a human being with a terminal illness.".

But he said he has not let his illness stop him getting on with his life.

His daughter, whose mother is also HIV-positive, recently celebrated her first birthday.

"I never thought I would have children. I never dreamt that one day somebody would say we could try for a child.

"We discussed it with our consultants. The child had follow up treatment to make sure she didn't get her mother's antibodies and she is now one-year-old and healthy," he said.