Close Inequalities to End AIDS & Prepare for Future Pandemics
Thembeni Mkingofa, a woman living with HIV, visits the PMTCT section of the Makhume District Hospital, Zimbabwe. She has three children – 14, 10 and 2 who are all HIV negative. This is her fourth pregnancy. Her husband is also on HIV treatment. Here she is pictured with her two-year-old daughter, Hilda Chakiryizira. 5 November 2019. Credit: UNAIDS/C. Matonhodze
BRASILIA, Brazil, Jun 5 2023 (IPS) – The COVID-19 crisis has shone a light on the danger of pandemics; social crises have shone a light on the danger of inequalities. And the reality is that outbreaks become the pandemics they do because of inequality. The good news is that both can be overcome – if they are confronted as one.
Scientific and medical breakthroughs in the treatment and prevention of HIV should have brought us to the point of ending AIDS. Tragically, however, although the number of new HIV …
Mental Health: Getting to Healthy, Happy
In many countries reporting mental health issues is frowned upon – even though statistics show there is a massive need for therapy and support. This illustration is by Dilselekhika Prerna explores mental health and identity. Credit: Fuzia.com
New York, Nov 18 2021 (IPS) – I was told to wait and cry it out. How could I explain to them that I have been crying for years? That was not the solution, asks Azra Zeng, a divorced mother of four in an interview with IPS. I wanted to speak to someone. I wanted to seek help where I could feel whole again. It felt that I was dying from inside, but no one could see.
Zeng was trying to make a living and look after her children while fighting a one-woman battle with mental health issues.
She was the sole breadwinner, and her parents also depended on her. Depression and mental health issues plagued her,…