Connie Celebrates Birthday & ARV Anniversary

This is a guest post from (RED) Ambassador Connie Mudenda:

My name is Constance Mudenda, but very few people call me that. They call me Connie! 

Today is my birthday, and I turned 56 years old… wow, and congratulations to myself! We could be celebrating my 21st memorial service this year, but I am alive, well, and have never been sick—all thanks to lifesaving ARVs that I have been taking since October 13,  2004. Every year that I celebrate my birthday, I also celebrate my rebirth because it's the day I started my ARV therapy. 

My advocacy is deeply personal. I have endured heartbreaking losses, having lost three of my children to AIDS, an experience that fuels my passion for raising awareness and fostering prevention strategies, especially for pregnant women here in Zambia. Rather than allowing my tragedies to define me, I have channeled my pain into hope for those who have lost hope and are discouraged.

Living with HIV myself, I have stood as a testament to the effectiveness of anti-retroviral therapies (ARVs), demonstrating that people with the virus can lead healthy, fulfilling lives, and illustrating that an AIDS-free generation is within reach.

HIV support is vital in Zambia because the country faces a generalized HIV epidemic that impacts public health, workforce productivity, and vulnerable groups like women and youth. 

For over 20 years, support programs have been providing free antiretroviral therapy (ART), helping over 1.2 million Zambians achieve viral suppression and live healthy lives, hence the importance of continued investment in HIV programs around the globe.

This is not an “African” problem, it is a global problem. The effects of funding cuts would take us back to the 1980s, and the efforts of over 40 years would be in vain. We must not let this happen.

I am living proof of what sustained investment in HIV programs can make possible. I was given a second chance at life, and every year on my birthday, I celebrate that gift. I want others living with HIV to have that same chance, and I want future generations to grow up in a world where HIV no longer takes the lives of the people we love. We have come so far, but we cannot stop now.