Psychosocial Support Essential in Promoting Right to Health for Young People Living with HIV in Malawi.

Imagine randomly deciding to take the HIV test and being diagnosed HIV positive. Think about the thousands of thoughts and regression models that would run in your mind to establish the correlation of the experiences the journey of life has taken you and the moment that just came to being. You had lived a modest and prayerful life not deserving this moment. You want to question your parents but can’t seem to find a direct line connecting to the land of no return, only to be told by your relatives that they suspect them to also have had what you have. You think this is the end of life but you hear a kind voice saying, “It’s going to be alright!” In your disconnect, the health personnel at the clinic tells you that you are not alone and if you start and stay on Anti-Retroviral Treatment you can still enjoy life like anybody else [enjoy a long and  healthy life…. They say you are going to be connected to a group of other young people also living positively with HIV. You don’t believe it but you take the referral letter anyway and hope to try out for the group meeting and decide on the next step of your life from there! This is what young people I interacted with described their experience finding out about their HIV status.  

 It is estimated that 1,030,400 people (2016, Spectrum) are living with HIV in Malawi.  Most of the times we think that the majority of the people living with HIV have gotten it from sexual intercourse. However, there are young people who get infected by HIV from their parents or blood transfusion. Imagine how hard it is to understand this new turn of events and embrace a new order of life. To know how important your compliance to drinking your dosage daily. To take serious charge of your health early and not because of diseases associated with old age. The complexity of this, one can only imagine…

Today the 1^st of December, 2017, is World AIDS Day which marks a great moment to reflect on Young People Living with HIV. The global theme of this year’s World AIDS Day is “The Right to Health” but Malawi has localized the theme to “The Right to Health: Access to Quality HIV Prevention and Treatment for All.” This is to emphasize the importance of the need to ensure expanded access to life-saving medicines, expanded health systems and increased access to acceptable and quality health and social protection services, without discrimination or coercion. The rights-based approach provides everyone with the right to realize the highest attainable standard of health without discrimination or stigma. 

It is universally recognized that when one enjoys their right, they can have power to live their life productively. While some people may be forthcoming to demand their rights, I believe that some people especially Young People Living with HIV will continually require support, mostly psycho-social, to fully access their right to health. The World Health Organization (http://www.who.int/hiv/topics/psychosocial/support/en/) states that with adequate support, people living with HIV are more likely to be able to respond adequately to the stress of being infected and are less likely to develop serious mental health problems. The journey to stay on ART starts with one accepting their status and this is not easy without support from health personnel, family and friends.

I am privileged to have had a chance to see how peer support, counselling and life-coaching programs are key to attainment of the right to health for Young People Living with HIV at Baylor College of Medicine-Children’s Foundation. A simple day of fun playing football or board games, memorizing ART names and reminding each other of the importance of staying on ART makes a huge difference in reminding children and young people living with HIV that as long as they continue taking their ART they can still live life large like anybody else! Through my volunteer work as a mentor at the foundation, I have had the opportunity to meet very ambitious and energetic girls and boys who are not letting their status impede them from reaching their dreams and I believe this is because of the support they get from psycho-social programs like those being offered by Baylor College of Medicine, Lighthouse, Partners in Health, Dignitas International, District Hospitals and other development partners.

In conclusion, it is great to note that Malawi has registered great strides in the HIV fight. Between the years 2000 and 2017, new annual HIV infections among adults fell by over 50 % from 65000 to 30,000. A decline in new infections among children under 15 years old from 27000 to 4000 – a decline of 87 %. This has led to adoption of the 90:90:90 campaign which aims to have 90 percent of all PLHIV know their HIV status; 90 percent of all people with diagnosed HIV infection receiving sustained ART; and 90 percent of all people receiving ART having viral suppression. I believe that the success of this will also be dependent on continued investments in psycho-social support programs for Young People Living with HIV. We can also be part of this support by being supportive of those affected by HIV and calling out all forms of stigma in our schools, organizations and communities

Delayed, not Denied: My journey to the Mandela Washington Fellowship For Young African Leaders!

I had been hearing about the call for young people to apply for the Young African Leaders Initiative –Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders for some time. I had heard that it was for outstanding young people under 35 doing amazing things in their community, a level which I thought I hadn’t yet reached. I had thought the fellowship was for those who founded organizations which are successful in Malawi. I was leading a youth network- Youth to Youth Empowerment which was put together by the World Bank in Malawi and not me. I let it pass until a YALI –Alumnus, Tadala Thembakako Longwe messaged me on Facebook to apply for the fellowship as they look for people like me and that a lot of women don’t apply. I explained to her how I felt that it’s not for people like me but she still encouraged me to apply. I applied for it online and submitted the application at one go. Then the “We regret to inform you” email came, well not to my surprise considering my prior perception about the program. I told myself this program was for special people and not for people like me. I will save myself the trouble and never apply for it again. 

A year passed, a new cohort for 2016 was selected and I marveled at the great crop of young leaders from Malawi. I still reminded myself how this was not for me.Life went by and I had a great year in 2016 doing youth work, representing young people at high level meetings, radio and TV programs, volunteering for causes near to my heart and completing my Master’s degree in Development Studies at Chancellor College. I was featured in local newspapers in Malawi a few times, the biggest being a 3 page spread in The Weekend Nation’s “Every Woman” section which recognizes outstanding young women in Malawi. I was at my peak and have never felt a re-assurance for my calling than I did this time.

Then the 2017 YALI-MWF cohort call for applications was announced again. My friend, Emily Wimbles, whom I had met at World University of Canada where we were both serving as volunteers, was like, “Tendai have you applied of YALI?” I heartily gave her my elevator pitch about not wanting to apply. She didn’t hear it and told me she was not going to stop reminding me about this until I apply because she thought I was doing great work in youth engagement in Malawi. My sister Mirriam and best friend Estell also told me that I should apply and didn’t mind my story about not applying. They reminded me of the amazing work I was doing with young people and explained how YALI-MWF would go a long way in enhancing the great work I was already doing. Emily kept reminding me, until the last week when I decided to do my application.

I started doing my application but differently this time. I went through the YALI Facebook page and website to read about tips and guidelines for applying to the program. The first thing that I realized through this was that I had even applied for the wrong track hence my chance of getting short-listed was minimal. I had applied for the entrepreneurship track because I thought Civic Leadership was for people with organizations. I was actually a perfect fit for the civic leadership track. Then I had someone review my essays before submitting which I didn’t do the first time I applied. I then submitted but without dwelling much on it.

I remember getting the email notification from YALI-MWF on my phone and thinking here goes the bad news, well to my surprise it was actually good news as I was short-listed to the next round of face to face Interviews at the US-Embassy in Malawi. I was so excited and called the people who encouraged me to apply to let them know I made it to the next round. I also started to prepare for the interviews and yet again I used the resources on the YALI website to prepare for my interview. Some friends also gave me tips for the interview and their “You got this!” went a long way in prepping me for this opportunity to really slay and impress the 4 people panel.

Time could only tell whether I slayed or not and it did! The long awaited news was finally here and for once in a long time google was the bearer of great news. “Dear Tendai: Congratulations! You have been chosen to participate in the 2017 Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders!” I remember that day I was on my desk and I stood up and shouted yes, jumped up and down, uttered a prayer (my normal routine for every big win regardless of where I am, Lol!). Out of the 822 applicants in Malawi I was one of the 17 finalists. Out of the 67,000 all over Africa, I was one of the 1000! What a feeling! I also not only got accepted for the 6 weeks leadership course followed by a summit, but also a 6 weeks professional Development experience at a US Institution which turned out to be the greatest personal development and reflection journey I have ever taken in this life. 

Imagine If I had given up at first attempt or still had this perception about the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders? I would have closed out doors to a life-changing experience. I also met other fellows who even tried 4 times and got picked up at their last try-out. So, I thought of writing this piece to encourage anybody who tried last year and thinking of giving up! There is a saying that it is better to try and fail, rather than not to try at all. I encourage you to apply again this year and choose to do it differently. If it’s your first time, then you have all these resources on the YALI website and Facebook Page which can help you prepare and ensure that you are applying for the right track, which is very important. The previous fellows are also a great resource to help edit your essays or explain any questions you may have.  If you also happen to not be successful this year, don’t beat yourself up, it’s a very competitive program with limited spaces hence not making the cut is not a reflection of who you are as a leader! Keep up the great work, your community needs you!

Some will even ask what will I gain from doing the fellowship, well a lot of things and I will be sharing my 3 big wins in my next entry soon. Lastly, apply, apply and apply, you could be next!

Apply and get tips here: https://yali.state.gov/washington-fellowship/apply/ 

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