Student writer wins African trip

Ms Blewett travelled to Lesotho

A woman from Wellington, Somerset, has travelled to southern Africa to see a Red Cross project tackling the issue of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

Emily Blewett, 21, a student at Exeter University, was chosen after winning an international development journalism award in the Guardian newspaper.

Ms Blewett travelled to Lesotho and said despite it being a peaceful country its main enemy is HIV and Aids.

"People can't get to hospitals and nurses can't get to people," she said.

How are you supposed to take medicine if you haven't got food in your stomach? Emily Blewett

"I met a woman who found out she was HIV positive after her husband died of Aids, and she was tested.

"She was pregnant with her seventh child at the time and got treatment. Her seventh child was born negative but the other six were very likely to be positive.

"Even when the medicine is available, it's not always accessible, whether due to stigma in communities over testing for HIV, or just the problem of people not being able to get to a health centre.

"And how are you supposed to take medicine anyway if you haven't got food in your stomach? When you meet someone like that, you think this could have been prevented, but you also realise how complicated it all is," she added.