When a prophecy revealed my promiscuity would lead to an HIV+ path.

When we reach a certain age in life the meaning of the first three alphabets switches, ABC no longer stands for apple, boy and cat; but rather it switches to a rather different ABC (Abstain, Be Faithful and Condomize). The ABC is one of the interventions that were used to protect pupils and young persons from unintended pregnancies and contracting STI’s including HIV.

HIV/AIDS is still an epidemic in the current times though silent but it still roams the paths of our world. With rape statistics on the rise globally some are unfortunate enough to contract the virus through such events; the greatest contributor that I believe will be the death of many of us, is acting as human test kits. This whereby you look at how a person looks

and just assume that their status is neither negative nor positive. And by so doing people engage in unprotected sexual intercourse.

HIV, STI’s and unplanned pregnancies are sometimes influenced by religious beliefs that don’t allow the use of HIV prevention interventions like condoms, loop and other HIV commodities. Back in 2017 I began living the Gabs city life of frequenting nightclubs with friends and cousins. Initially, I would not take alcohol and as the night went on I would find myself entertained despite my soberness. It didn’t take me a while till I became friends with the bottle. A character of promiscuity emerged; I started engaging in unprotected sexual activities with different people either with hook-ups and those that I dated. These hook-ups occurred in the most random places. Many are times that I would find myself being caught in the heat of lustful desires and I would act on them immediately without proper reasoning, there was no time to buy and put on a condom, that’s why it’s called quickie. By the time, I enjoyed unprotected sexual intercourse because it had unmatched pleasure - nothing compared to it. Engaging in unprotected sexual activities and yet not catching STI’s and the HIV itself continued to fuel my newfound character.

One fateful Sunday at church I was prophesied and it was revealed that my promiscuity would lead me to an HIV+ path. In me digesting what would become my reality if I had not changed, a great friend of mine introduced me to PrEP. He however capacitated me about the pill and everything that comes with it. This friend of mine, who I would like to keep anonymous was a peer outreach worker by then, working with one of the nationally recognized organizations that aims to protect and promote the rights of the LGBTQIA++ persons including their health rights.

I took a decision to be sensible of my health and decided to enrol for the treatment of PrEP even though it wasn’t easy at first, I would sometimes miss taking my pill because it was something foreign to do daily. This was despite having been taught about this pill and the magic behind it if I take it consistently and use condoms properly. I also made a decision to educate myself more on it. However being on PrEP treatment comes with stigma from family, friends and our partner(s). To some who don’t have the knowledge they assume that PrEP treatment is for people living with HIV/AIDS hence where stigma arises. This can lead to individuals being discouraged and leading to defaulting of medication putting them once again at risk of getting the HIV.

Studies show that taking PrEP like any other medication can cause some side effects including headaches, nausea, dizziness, change of appetite and skin irritation among others. I however didn’t experience any of the side effects and they usually subside within a short period. The benefits of PrEP outweigh the side effects. This study continues to show that PrEP reduces the risk of getting HIV by 99% if taken consistently which means that there is a role that needs to be played by individuals also, which is to ensure proper use of condoms at all times when engaging in sexual intercourse. This is because PrEP is only proven effective for HIV prevention but ineffective when STI’s and pregnancy is concerned.

Abusing alcohol and other dangerous substances puts us especially young people at higher risk of getting HIV. Amid the challenges that I encountered, I fought a good fight by making the right decisions well in time that enabled me to maintain my HIVstatus and being free from STI’s.