ZAMBIA: A woman in Zambia has become the first journalist to publicly declare her HIV status

Record ID: 402289

  • Title: ZAMBIA: A woman in Zambia has become the first journalist to publicly declare her HIV status
  • Date: 4th August 2007
  • Summary: SZ(AD1) LUSAKA, ZAMBIA (JULY 31, 2007) (REUTERS) WIEW OF MILDRED MPUNDU'S HOUSE FORMER ZAMBIAN PRESIDENT, KENNETH KAUNDA, WALKS TO GREET MPUNDU VARIOUS OF KAUNDA AND MPUNDU WALKING TOGETHER MPUNDU SITTING AND HOLDING ON TO A WALKING STICK KAUNDA SITS DOWN
  • Embargoed: 19th August 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Zambia
  • Country: Zambia
  • Topics: Health
  • Reuters ID: LVABISUCGBT3YRQ1N2Q7UVX5UMHL
  • Story Text: As part of efforts to fight the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS in Zambia, Mildred Mpundu has become the first journalist to publicly declare her HIV positive status. About 1 million of Zambia's 12 million people are living with the virus.
    In a move that is unprecedented among journalists in Zambia, Mildred Mpundu recently decided to tell the world about her HIV positive status.
    Mpundu has won national praise for her moving accounts of how she contracted the disease. Since discovering her status and subsequent illness, Mpundu has resigned from her feature writing job for the 'Times' newspaper.
    Zambia's former president and founding father, Kenneth Kaunda, lauded her efforts to fight the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS during a visit to Mpundu's home with a group of Zambian journalists.
    "It's good particularly for the young journalists, female journalists and the young male journalists who are doing this profession to have self control. Trust in God, believe in God, God will keep you and if he has to give you a woman he'll give you a woman, if he has to give you a man, he'll give you a man," said Mpundu.
    Zambia has a population of about 12 million people. The United Nations estimates that about one million of them are living with the HIV virus.
    "There are many who are afraid of coming out. There are many who wouldn't want to say their parents have died of AIDS. They would like to say something else. But what you have done is wonderful for Zambia, Africa, for the rest of mankind, wherever AIDS is a problem", said Dr. Kaunda Dr. Kaunda was speaking in his capacity as the chairman of the Kenneth Kaunda Children's Foundation which is actively involved in fighting HIV/AIDS in Zambia and around the continent.
    Cassius Mbewe, who hosts a radio show for Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC), reads the newspaper headlines to his listeners each morning. He read out Mpundu's story when it hit the headlines. Mbewe is keen to see more journalists following her example.
    "This is important in that because as journalist we are the people that the other masses out there look up to and if we come out in the open and make sure that we talk about HIV and AIDS and we actually make mention of our status, it's going to help a lot of people out there because we are looked at as role models", says Mbewe.
    Apart from the problem of stigma, Zambia is also struggling to cope with about 710,000 AIDS orphans.
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