Imagine a World Without HIV/AIDS
By Phindile Ncongwane
Johannesburg, South Africa
April 24, 2008

My name is Phindile Ncongwane and I am a health worker in South Africa, employed at the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. I am writing to share my experiences as a person affected by HIV and AIDS.

In 2006, I lost my dearest sister, Sibongile, to AIDS. She was an elder sibling and we were very close. We had a tight connection (or so I thought).

In my struggle to make sense of my sister’s death, I’ve realized the following two things upset me the most. I’m actually unsure which of these two is the hardest:

• My sister died without disclosing her condition to me, and this remains tough. I ask myself: Was I that unreachable, fragile, or judgmental? I guess I will never know why she didn’t tell me.

• She died at the time that antiretroviral treatment (ART) — medication that allows people with HIV and AIDS to live healthy lives — was being rolled out in South Africa, and yet she did not access it. This pains me a great deal, especially since I am a health worker and I could have helped her to access ART.

Our country has a budget and a strategic plan in place to help people with HIV and AIDS to access the care and treatment they need. Yet many of the people who need to get onto treatment, like my sister, never succeed in doing so for some reason, and they end up dying unnecessarily.

This is why I came to work at the Foundation — to make a personal contribution to the fight against HIV and AIDS. If we keep working to improve quality of care for people with HIV/AIDS, we can make things better out there. I am proud to work for an organization that honors the legacy of Elizabeth Glaser’s love for her own children and all children and families affected by HIV. The Foundation works with passion and dedication to provide global leadership on pediatric HIV and AIDS.

Imagine a world in which children and families live free from HIV/AIDS.

As a quality improvement and training officer, Phindile Ncongwane is responsible for the overall coordination of all quality improvement and training activities for the Foundation in South Africa. She is also responsible for providing communication support by helping to identify communication strategies and developing country-specific communication tools and materials.