HIV remains a reality in much of sub-Saharan Africa, affecting mostly girls and young women. As climate change and conflicts top the agenda at the United Nations, more needs to be done to fight the virus, warns UNAIDS, the main UN agency working on the epidemic. Gniwali Ndangou lives in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic. She is an orphan and was the only one of her siblings to have to take pills daily throughout her childhood. Her guardian told her that the medication was for malaria and headaches. It wasn’t until the age of 17 when Gniwali threatened to stop taking her medication, that her sister finally told her the truth: she was born with HIV. Today, she works as a peer educator and community health worker at a centre for sexual education for young people, the Centre d'information et d'éducation sexuelle des jeunes CISJEU (Center for Youth Sexual Education and Information). It offers services run by the local population, such as HIV tests and information on ...
