“We are here, we are not giving up.” These are the encouraging words of Thérèse Omari, an activist engaged for more than 20 years in the fight once morest AIDS within the Femme Plus foundation, of which she is the co-founder and National Director in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Femme Plus, true to its motto “positive life”, works to improve the quality of life of people living with HIV. “The objective is above all that our beneficiaries live in harmony with themselves, with those around them and with their beliefs,” explains Ms. Omari.
To do this, the foundation provides psychosocial support for people living with HIV or affected by the virus through advice, care and assistance services. Femme Plus also carries out many activities within communities to free people living with HIV from the burden of stigma. “There is still a lot to do to change attitudes towards people living with HIV,” regrets Ms. Omari. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, HIV-related stigma is still very present, especially in community settings. “Many people living with HIV say they no longer attend family gatherings and other events for fear of being discriminated once morest. It is therefore essential that people who come to Femme Plus feel that they are considered normal people with rights and obligations,” she explains. In order to raise awareness, the foundation sets up workshops intended to provide communities with the knowledge necessary to better support a person living with HIV, without ostracizing them or treating them differently.
Ms. Omari also deplores the persistence of stigma and discrimination in healthcare settings despite the many training courses on HIV for healthcare staff. In particular, she receives testimonies from pregnant women who have been diagnosed with HIV in one facility and wish to give birth in another care center for fear of being stigmatized and treated differently. This phenomenon is problematic since it can interfere with appropriate care for the mother and the infant.
Ending discrimination and ensuring the protection of the rights of people living with HIV is therefore one of the priorities of Femmes Plus to help them assert themselves and make the right choices regarding their health. “We encourage people living with HIV to take responsibility for themselves, to speak out regarding what is wrong, for their own good,” says Ms. Omari.
Mrs. Omari also challenges us on other obstacles to the AIDS response. The lack of access to prevention and treatment, the low rate of people with an undetectable viral load, are among the weak points of the fight in the Democratic Republic of Congo. “Not everyone has access to screening. There are still people with HIV who live in anonymity,” warns Ms. Omari.
To fill this gap, the Femme Plus Foundation works with community leaders to teach them how to stay healthy with HIV. Among other activities, it also works with women of pregnant or breastfeeding age by providing them with the knowledge necessary to protect their babies and thus put an end to vertical transmission.
“As long as there are people who do not know their HIV status, who do not have access to treatment and who have not reached an undetectable viral load, the fight of the Femme Plus foundation will always have a meaning” insists Mrs Omari.
She concludes by specifying that the fight once morest AIDS in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is taking place in a context where resources are limited. “The local population must take ownership of psychosocial care and prevention activities to make HIV an electoral issue,” she explains. Pending greater funding from the state and better traceability of funds, community-run services have a crucial role to play with people living with HIV. They are at the heart of the fight once morest AIDS, advocating for access to prevention and vital care, calling for respect for human rights and responding to the specific needs of their beneficiaries. Their support is therefore crucial to meeting the challenges of the fight once morest HIV and ending AIDS by 2030.
