This story is part of a series called Zambia

Zambia

Zambia has a true HIV epidemic on its hands: its 16,590,000 population has 1,200,000 people living with HIV. (PLHIV), 85,000 of them children. 2016 saw 59,000 new infections, among them 8900 children. 380,000 children have been orphaned by AIDS.

ALEX

Lusaka, Zambia

It’s difficult for young people with HIV in Zambia. Because of the big stigma associated with HIV it’s not easy to talk about this virus openly. Many young people are living with a huge secret.
Disclosure; sharing your HIV status with others, is a complicated and fraught affair. In Shambala’s portrait we see how she tackled this when she first told two friends about her HIV.
Alex and Mwamba conduct their own, tough fight with HIV.
But it’s good to see that these great teenagers are one in their strength, their lust for life and their desire not to let HIV dominate their lives. View the films about Shambala and Mwamba and read Alex’s book. These great youngsters have a lot to tell.

Alex is 13 and infected with HIV. We followed him for a full day to get to know him a bit better.
Alex has had the virus all his life. He contracted it at birth, or shortly afterward from being breastfed by his mother.
Alex is participating in the New Horizon program. This means he became resistant to the two different medicine cocktails he used to take, so now he’s in a “third line” process.
When you begin the “third line” treatment, you have to return every few weeks for check-ups. Adherence to medication is a big problem in many places in the world, and certainly in Zambia.
"People are used to waiting."

The friendly doctor tells us not to concern ourselves with how long it takes to talk to several other children.
On the way to Alex's home we stop for lunch. Alex and his mother have already had a long day and I haven’t seen them eat or drink anything. Nothing! In the eatery where we end up everyone orders chicken and fries.
Alex and his family live in a “compound” on the city's outskirts. Compounds are similar to townships: sprawling, poor neighborhoods.
From the main road it’s still about 2 kilometers by foot on unpaved paths to Alex's house, which takes about half an hour. He makes this journey at least twice a day to go to school or go shopping.
On land next to their house Alex’ family have laid the foundation for a couple of extra rooms. Adding this additional living space is a long-term project. It will be built only if there’s enough money.
Alex family of 8 people all live together in one house.
There are two beds in the house. Who sleeps with whom we didn’t ask. But this is Alex's bedroom.
The whole house comprises four small rooms: the living room, two bedrooms and the kitchen. We see no refrigerator. Outside we see a rickety shed, undoubtedly the latrine—there’s no bathroom. A generator supplies the house’s electricity.
It’s clear that Alex's mother is infected with HIV. Whether any other family members have HIV, we don’t know.
The reluctance to tell even your closest family or your best friends that you have HIV is seen by doctors as one of the biggest problems with HIV and AIDS care in Zambia.
Boys will be boys.
All day Alex appears bright and cheerful. Not for a moment would you think that he suffers from his meager existence, his HIV status, or the difficult road he’ll have to take if he ever wants to live outside the compound.

Yet in many reports and articles about Zambia, loneliness among people living with HIV is mentioned as a real and serious problem.
Late in the afternoon!
It was a great pleasure for us to meet Alex. We wish him and his family the very best.