Jeanne Gapiya-Niyonzima

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Jeanne Gapiya-Niyonzima
Born (1963-07-12) 12 July 1963 (age 60)
Bujumbura, Burundi
NationalityBurundian
OccupationHuman rights activist

Jeanne Gapiya-Niyonzima (born 12 July 1963, in Bujumbura) is a human rights activist from Burundi. She is the chair and founder of the National Association for Support for HIV-Positive People with AIDS (ANSS) and was the first person from the country to publicly admit they had HIV.[1]

Biography

Gapiya-Niyonzima trained as an accountant initially, but found her first employment at a pharmacy in Burundi's capital city.[2]

In 1987, she married her husband and in 1988 when she was pregnant with her second child, her first child was diagnosed as HIV positive.[3] At her doctor's insistence her pregnancy was terminated and she was also diagnosed as HIV positive.[3] Her first child died aged eighteen months; her husband died of AIDS soon after in 1989.[3] In 1993 after the death of her sister and brother, she tested positive for HIV.[4]

In 1994, Gapiya-Niyonzima became the first person from Burundi to publicly declare that they were HIV positive.[5] This happened during a religious service, in which a sermon was delivered which stigmatised people with the disease.[5]

Activism

In 1993, Gapiya-Niyonzima founded the National Association of Support for Seropositive and AIDS Patients (ANSS).[6] It was the first civil organisation in the country to provide support and treatment, including anti-retroviral therapy, for people with HIV and AIDS within the country.[6] The ANSS promotes the prevention of the transmission of HIV/AIDS and provides support for those with the infection, however it was transmitted, and their families.[7]

In 1996, whilst Burundi was under a trade embargo, Gapiya-Niyonzima fought for the right of patients to continue to access medicines, which were being sold at exorbitant prices.[8] In 1999 she established the Turinho centre within the ANSS which provides overall support and care for those infected and affected.[9]

In April 2011 Gapiya-Niyonzima addressed the United Nations Committee for HIV/AIDS in New York City.[9] Since 2013, with the support of UNITAID, the ANSS has run a laboratory which performs its own viral loads tests.[10] Between August 2014 and November 2016, the laboratory performed 14,800 HIV viral load tests for patients on anti-retrovirals.[10] From 2013 to 2016, the ANSS performed 85% of the viral load tests carried out in Burundi.[10]

In 2016, Gapiya-Niyonzima was re-elected as president of the ANSS by its General Assembly.[11] The ANSS had at that time 6,410 members, 5,114 of whom take antiretroviral medicines.[11] She is also a board member for other NGOs active in anti-discrimination organisations, including Coalition Plus[12] and Sidaction.[13]

Awards

  • 2012 : Prize of Human Rights of the French Republic.[14]
  • 2012: Elected Burundian Woman of Courage of the Year 2012 by the Government of the United States of America.[15]
  • 2006: Sidaction International Prize.[16]
  • 2003: World Food Program Prize for having “mobilized and influenced young people in secondary schools, women's leagues, the media and the authorities to fight against HIV / AIDS”.[17]

Family

Gapiya-Niyonzima remarried in 1999 and she has two children.[18]

References

  1. ^ Amen, Elodie (2 December 2019). "Avant d'être infectés, nous sommes des hommes, nous sommes des femmes". Deutsche Welle (in French). Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  2. ^ Jacques, Francois (10 March 2016). "J'ai refusé que l'on condamne mon bébé qui venait de mourir". Coalition PLUS (in French). Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "Une femme de tous les combats contre le sida". The New Humanitarian (in French). 28 December 2000. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  4. ^ "BURUNDI, Les personnalités célèbres : Burundi, guide touristique Petit Futé". www.petitfute.com. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Person of the Week: Jeanne Gapiya". Devex. 5 May 2011. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  6. ^ a b "ANSS : 20 ans de riposte à l'épidémie de VIH au Burundi". www.unaids.org (in French). Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  7. ^ "Accueil". www.anssburundi.bi. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  8. ^ "Traitement du VIH/sida: l'expérience d'une association burundaise". Medicus Mundi Schweiz (in German). Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  9. ^ a b Mazzotta, Meredith (2 May 2011). "HIV/AIDS in Burundi: An advocate blazes the trail for access to care and treatment". Science Speaks: Global ID News. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  10. ^ a b c Jacques, Francois (15 May 2018). "BURUNDI - Démédicaliser pour faciliter le suivi et l'accès au traitement". Coalition PLUS (in French). Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  11. ^ a b "Election du nouveau comité exécutif de l'ANSS : Jeanne Gapiya reconduite". IWACU (in French). 23 May 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  12. ^ Lindlau, Diego (3 March 2016). "Journée internationale des droits des femmes - SIDA: première cause de mortalité chez les femmes de 15 à 44 ans". Coalition PLUS (in French). Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  13. ^ "Conseil d'administration" (PDF).
  14. ^ "Le projet OPP-ERA, un projet innovant pour améliorer les soins dédiés aux personnes vivant avec le VIH Sida" (PDF).
  15. ^ "Jeanne Gapiya Niyonzima élue "Femme Burundaise de Courage de l'année 2012"". IWACU (in French). 5 May 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  16. ^ "Jeanne Gapiya-Niyonzima", Wikipédia (in French), 1 February 2020, retrieved 5 February 2020
  17. ^ "OCHA Burundi: Rapport de Situation de la semaine du 10 - 16 Mar 2003 - Burundi". ReliefWeb. 16 March 2003. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  18. ^ "Les médecins m'ont dit :" Votre bébé est malade du Sida, il va mourir, d'ailleurs vous aussi"". BBC News Afrique (in French). 23 May 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2020.

External links

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