Nigerian LGBTQ rights activist, Bisi Alimi is celebrating 18 years of living with HIV.
Alimi, who gained international recognition when he became the first Nigerian to come out as gay on television, said he hid his HIV status for five years because of shame and stigma.
“Eighteen years ago, at the national AIDS conference in Abuja and with nudging from friends, I walked into a testing booth for the first time,” his post on Facebook read.
“I walked out with HIV positive test result. Two years before then, I had just lost my best friend to AIDS, and he was around 26 years.
“I have been living with HIV since I was 29. This year I clocked 47. Between 2004-2009, I kept quiet about my HIV status cos of shame and stigma.
“Then I realized, HIV doesn’t kill. It is stigma, the shame and discrimination that does.
“Here is to 18 years of positivity and many more years to come. Please get tested today.”
