World AIDS Day 2016: Listen to Maximina Jokonya’s journey
Maximina Jokonya, a Zimbabwean HIV activist, born HIV positive, tells her personal journey and how treatment, love and respect changed her life to the better in 2006 when she commenced taking Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) at the Newlands Clinic supported by the Ruedi Lüthy Foundation.
Maximina Jokonya works for Africaid as a Zvandiri Mentor implementing the DREAMS project in Mutare District, Zimbabwe. The disease, her family, Africaid and her community have inspired her passion for working with adolescents and young women who are infected and affected by HIV. She encourages the adoption of interventions that eliminate stigma and discrimination. Through her desire to learn about HIV and find ways to help her community, she joined the University of Zimbabwe – University of California San Francisco (UZ-UCSF) Collaborative Research Programme in 2007 as a Community Advisory Board (CAB) member; she is also part of the Community Delegation to the Global Fund Board, supports the Women Deliver Young Leader Programme and is part of the IAS 2016 Global Village and Youth working group member amongst many other representations. Maximina at the MMS Symposium 2016Maximina was invited to speak at the annual MMS Symposium "Working in Fragile Contexts and Building up Resilient Health Systems - Why Do Community Systems Matter?" At this occasion Michelle Lanwer interviewed Maximina on her personal journey, her experience in working with young people and how gender inequality, stigma and discrimination can be addressed.
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