Your friend with HIV/aids is still your friend

Abdul Samed Mukhtar

Center for Islamic Research and Propagation

Old Tafo Kumasi

(Ghana)

I am presenting my paper from the perspective of my own country as well as other African countries. In Ghana where I live, if a member of the family is infected with HIV/aids, everybody abandon him or her for one reason or another. It's obvious that, the first reason is that, we normally don't want to interact with him or her to avoid being infected.

Another reason is that, because, the affected person is a bad omen to the family and the society as a whole and that the person affected is unfaithful or better still a prostitute. Especially if she is a woman,

I mean a married woman, she is being demoralised and subjected to so many frustrations and many other bad behaviours. These behaviours of the people around infected persons makes them believe that, they are not part of the community and that they are not needed. So they think a lot and die before their times, others want to end it up themselves by committing suicide and so many horrible things.

Our behaviour towards the people living with HIV/aids makes their conditions worse than they already are. This behaviour towards the people living with HIV/aids is mostly out of ignorance on behalf of many people who don’t understand clearly how the virus infects due to little or lack of education. I believe that, if people in Africa and the rest of the world are very well educated to know how the disease can affect another from the affected person, we wouldn't treat them like they are not part of the community. And at the end of the day, we will all get to know and understand and also accept the fact that, a friend with HIV/aids is still a friend.

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