Stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV remain widespread in our society, with attitudes showing little improvement over the past two decades.
The Chairman of the Fiji National HIV Outbreak Cluster Response Taskforce, Dr Jason Mitchell, highlighted this issue during an interview on fijivillage Straight Talk With Vijay Narayan.
Dr Mitchell stated that the stigma may even be stronger today, partly due to the growing public association between HIV and drug use.
He noted that this link unfairly fuels judgement and misconceptions, as many people with HIV contracted the virus through other means.
Author's summary: Stigma against HIV patients persists in society.