Mathabisang Lephoka, from Leribe district is living openly with HIV since 1998. “When I knew my status then, there was no free AIDS treatment. My health deteriorated, I was thin and bedridden,” she explained. At this time, 1990s, there was no free AIDS treatment. The drugs were expensive and only available at private facilities.

“During those days HIV was a scary thing, people had fear of unknown, therefore everybody was scared of me and I was stigmatized and discriminated by my family, friends and my community,” said Lephoka.

In early 2000s, Lephoka’s child and husband died of HIV but she managed to survive in her weak and fragile condition without treatment but only attend to opportunist infections until when Lesotho Government officially launched free AIDS treatment in 2004. Luckily Senkatana in Maseru and T’sepong ART center in Leribe were among the first public facilities to roll out free ART in Lesotho.

“I was among the first patients to be enrolled to ART here in Leribe at Tsepong Antiretroviral Therapy center in 2004. After a month my health improved dramatically. Even today I am still healthy,” she stated.

Today, Lephoka is an expert patient volunteers at Tsepong ART centre to offer counseling to HIV patients. “I tell people my story and give them hope that they will also gain their health back since treatment is now free. During health talks I tell them about behavior change, treatment adherence and pray together with them to give them hope,” she elaborated.

Caption: Manthabisang telling her story during the capturing of GF Lesotho video  documentary

“I thank our Government for providing free AIDS treatment that saved my life. We could not afford treatment then, my husband and child could be alive today. I thank Global Fund and other donors who support our Government to make free AIDS treatment accessible to all patients,” she acknowledged.   

May God bless the hands that give to save many more lives in our country and elsewhere in the world.