Ms. Martine Somda Dakuyo was 34 years old when she was diagnosed with HIV. This announcement, which she describes as traumatic, suddenly upsets all the hopes and plans of this mother of four children. “I suffered a lot from the fear of dying prematurely and in deplorable conditions” she explains. Despite a deep sense of anger and injustice, she eventually comes to terms with her status and even goes so far as to go public with it in the media to encourage people living with HIV to accept themselves and get help.
Today, thanks to her treatments that control her viral load and keep her in good health, Martine can hope to live a happy and productive life. She is one of the pioneers in the fight against AIDS in Burkina Faso with nearly 29 years of fighting alongside the NGO Responsibility Hope Life Solidarity (REVS+). This association, of which she is the initiator and the President of the Board of Directors, works in favor of the prevention of HIV, the care of people exposed to the virus and the promotion of their human rights.
“The fight against AIDS in West and Central Africa remains a health emergency” alert Mrs. Somda. Although the HIV prevalence rate stands at 0.7% in Burkina Faso, Ms. Somda challenges us on the situation of key populations, who are more exposed to the dangers of HIV, and on the reasons that lead to this sad reality. In particular, she mentions the political and security context of the region, the proposed laws that discriminate against key populations and the weak involvement of people affected by HIV in the fight against AIDS as obstacles to effective care.
To protect key populations from the dangers of HIV, Ms. Somda’s ambition is to enable universal access to prevention methods, which are a crucial aspect of the fight against AIDS.
« Sand focus on effective access to health and rights people in a situation of social rejection and criminalization, this is the challenge to which the fight against AIDS will have to respond”she says.
To achieve universal access to prevention, care and follow-up services, Ms Somda recommends, among other things, greater involvement of people affected by HIV in the development of national strategies to fight AIDS, better recognition action on the ground and the elimination of the social and economic inequalities that fuel the epidemic.
In addition, Ms. Somda shares with us her concerns about conservatism and cultural, religious and traditional pressures, which promote stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV. This discrimination manifests itself in various forms; through verbal or physical attacks, threats, harassment, arbitrary arrests, she observes. Such behaviors are dangerous and represent a major obstacle to the fight against AIDS since they discourage people living with HIV from turning to the appropriate services. It is therefore urgent to put an end to this violence in order to create a favorable climate for the respect and protection of the rights of people living with HIV. Establishing a more inclusive discourse, free from discriminatory and erroneous prejudices, will allow a more effective response guided by values of respect, integrity and equality.
It is in this dynamic that REVS+ set up workshops and training in 2015 for decision-makers, religious and traditional leaders, health professionals, police and media. The objective of these activities is above all to denounce stereotypes around people living with HIV and to put an end to discrimination.
“The contribution of community services to the response to HIV is known and proven, in that it complements the services offered by the public health system”, explains Ms. Somda. Ensuring the continuity of their activities, and allowing as many people as possible to benefit from them, is a necessity in order to fight effectively against AIDS in the region. It is in particular thanks to the resilience of networks such as REVS+, which ensured the maintenance of prevention activities and care services for people affected by HIV, that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people living with HIV could be minimized.
Finally, to guarantee the effectiveness of the fight against AIDS in the region, and more particularly in Burkina Faso, Ms. Somda hopes to see more substantial funding and ” more oriented on the ground, on the alignment of policies, strategies and in accordance with the needs of marginalized groups ».
Thanks to this exchange with Ms. Somda, we see once again that there is still a long way to go to end AIDS in the region. However, this objective is within reach if all the actors in the response to HIV work together to develop multi-sector strategies. The implementation of measures allowing universal access to prevention services, the elimination of inequalities and stereotypes linked to HIV as well as better management of investments are essential priorities for ending AIDS by 2030.