top of page
Happy Couple
Banner_Red_Transparant-02-01.png
Living with HIV.

Living with HIV.

The life expectancy of people with HIV is increasingly approaching that of people without HIV. If you are treated and you are otherwise healthy, you can function normally in society.

HIV stigma.

In the beginning, when you first find out that you have HIV, you will have to get used to the idea and everything that comes with it. You have a lot coming your way. HIV is an infection that is still fraught with large parts of society: this is due to the HIV stigma.

Many people are afraid of people with HIV instead of HIV. Over time, more and more puzzle pieces fall into place. And if your HIV treatment works well for a longer period of time, you will find more peace of mind. You no longer let your life be led by HIV, but you live your life around HIV.

Important
questions.

Can you have children if you have HIV?

As an HIV-positive man or woman, you can have children without HIV.

If you take the medication properly and the virus has been suppressed, you cannot pass it on to someone else. So not to your partner and not to your baby if you get pregnant. We call a suppressed virus undetectable. Undetectable = Untransmissable. In other words: suppressed virus in your body = no chance of infecting someone else through, for example, sexual contact or during pregnancy.

A woman with HIV who takes her tablet every day and who has a suppressed virus can become pregnant and give birth normally. The chance of HIV in the baby is then actually 0.

Can you cure HIV?

You cannot, in principle, be cured of HIV. The virus no longer leaves your body. HIV drugs can slow down the virus so that you can never get sick from it.

There are some very rare cases of people with HIV and leukemia (blood cancer) who have had a bone marrow transplant and are cured, this is not standard treatment. It does, however, provide insights into possible new drugs or a vaccine.

Is HIV Only for Gay Men?

Anyone who has unprotected sexual contacts is at risk of getting HIV. Doesn't matter if you're gay or not. The most common way of infection is through unprotected sex or during pregnancy from mother to child. In many countries, all pregnant women are therefore tested for HIV, including on Curacao. In some countries where drug use is with needles, people are infected in this way, we do not see that in Curacao. Blood donors have been tested for HIV for a long time, unfortunately not in the past, which means that people have been infected in this way for a short time.

JOIN THE MOVEMENT!

Keep up to date with the latest news.

Thank you for registering!

Contact us.

Do you have a question, or are you curious about how you can contribute? Please feel free to contact us.

Thank you for your message, we'll get back to you soon.

bottom of page