Twenty years ago, being diagnosed with HIV was like a death sentence. Drugs were not available in the local hospitals, and were very expensive to acquire from South Africa and elsewhere abroad.

Many people died of the disease which was then being held in secrecy by the health authorities, and was given various ambiguous names by locals such as kaliwondewonde, kamapewa or jekete. These names depicted the weary appearance of people living with the virus. 

Around 2003, the story changed. As the country started providing free antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) to people who are HIV positive, the survival rate drastically improved.

Twenty years ago, being diagnosed with HIV was like a death sentence. Drugs were not available in the local hospitals, and were very expensive to acquire from South Africa and elsewhere abroad.

Many people died of the disease which was then being held in secrecy by the health authorities, and was given various ambiguous names by locals such as kaliwondewonde, kamapewa or jekete. These names depicted the weary appearance of people living with the virus. 

Around 2003, the story changed. As the country started providing free antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) to people who are HIV positive, the survival rate drastically improved.

Information Minister Mark Bottomani this morning visited Zodiak Media offices in Lilongwe where he commended the station for the work it is doing in informing the citizenry.