“In November, social media erupted over the case of a 25-year-old man seeking treatment for lung cancer who was turned away from two Beijing hospitals because he was H.I.V.-positive.” Click here for the full article

This is just one example of the many in which men and women who are HIV positive are discriminated against. What is surprising is that even among educated professionals the stigma against HIV persists. A doctor with HIV was shunned by other doctors in China because they felt they were at risk of contracting the virus by merely shaking the doctor’s hands and being near his lab coat. The growth of civil societies that can not only cater to the medical needs of HIV infected individuals, but can also debunk many of the myths associated with this disease by going to schools or passing out pamphlets to people during educational events open to the public. As with many biomedical and public health issues, the problem is also political. The government needs to support civil societies and non profits that cater to HIV infected individuals and stop censoring matters concerning homosexuality and HIV.

It is important to emphasize that civil societies should be leading this effort with the help of the government because it would leave the matter at the hands of the community, empowering those affected by the disease to seek their own way of making a difference.

In Buenos Aires, Argentina, for example I met with the director of the Ministry of Health, as well as, with a civil society led by HIV infected individuals from different provinces in Argentina. Although the Ministry of Health is useful in handling large tasks, such as creating policies to improve the sexual education at schools, civil society leaders feel it is their job to point out the problems that are particular to each community, while empowering local leaders to take part in the movement to spread HIV/AIDS awareness.