A 19-year-old Lesotho activist, Rakhantša Lehloebi, who was infected with HIV at birth, has opened up about his status, to help encourage local men to get tested and treated for the virus, a report says.
Lehloebi was born in 2002 and his mother died of Aids-related illnesses three years later.
He tested positive at the age of five.
According to a youth organisation, Help Lesotho, the Aids pandemic in the southern African country has had a devastating impact on the economy, social structure, and capacity of families to care for themselves.
Harmful cultural practices
Lesotho has the second highest HIV prevalence rate in the world – 25 % of people, or one in four people in the country are living with HIV, the organisation says.
Over half of the 300 000 adults living with HIV in Lesotho are women.
There are currently more than 200 000 orphans in Lesotho, most of whom are Aids orphans.
Lehloebi, who grew up under the care of his grandmother, says many of his peers and older men continue to hide their HIV-positive status because of harmful cultural practices dictating that real men must deal with their problems in secret, especially when it comes to sensitive health issues like HIV, Euro News reports.
His activism comes at a time when the Lesotho government is working towards encouraging men to get tested for HIV, the report says.
Sexually transmitted diseases
“There are men who are currently locking themselves up in their houses, refusing to seek medical attention despite presenting with signs and symptoms of sexually transmitted diseases,” the report quotes Lehloebi as saying.
In its HIV and Aids policy, the Lesotho government says it is firmly committed to reversing the spread of the pandemic.
“We are determined to tackle the epidemic using good governance principles. We have thus come up with bold, aggressive and innovative strategies to help us to achieve the desired goals. Some of these include the Know Your Status campaign launched on World AIDS Day 2005, a door-to-door campaign reputed to be the first of its kind in the world,” says the government.
PICTURE: Pexels
