SINCE being diagnosed with HIV seven years ago a 44-year-old man says he’s never missed a doctor’s appointment nor a day of taking his antiretroviral medication, as prescribed.

In fact, he shared that he’s transferred his medication to a “vitamin bottle, just to keep reminding [myself] that I’m taking a vitamin”.

“I put all the emphasis on that,” the man, who now mentors young men living with HIV through a local programme, told the Jamaica Observer in a recent interview.

Through his commitment he has not only managed to achieve an undetectable viral load, but has also maintained it over the years.

“I know that I choose life, so that’s exactly where I’m heading,” said the man who explained that as a mentor he encourages his mentees and ensures that they are taking their medication — and on time.

“It has been going good so far,” said the man who spoke to the Sunday Observer on condition of anonymity.

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) said at the end of December 2023, globally, 30.7 million people or 77 per cent of all people living with HIV were accessing antiretroviral therapy — up from 7.7 million in 2010. However, the number is still short of the 34-million target for 2025.

UNAIDS Country Director for Jamaica, Belize, Suriname, and the OECS Richard Amenyah said in a speech last year that 30,000 people are living with HIV in Jamaica, which is equivalent to nine per cent of the HIV population in the Caribbean. He also said the national treatment cascade shows that 91 per cent of people living with HIV know their status, but only 14,560 or 49 per cent are on antiretroviral treatment. Also, only 38 per cent of all people living with HIV are virally suppressed.

According to National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) who take antiretroviral medications, as prescribed and who achieve and then maintain an undetectable viral load, have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting the virus to people without HIV.

As a man who has sex with men, the 44-year-old is among the key populations, as the UNAIDS said in 2022 that the relative risk of acquiring HIV was 23 times higher for gay men and other men who have sex with men.

While he did not think that he’d be living with HIV today, he is grateful.

“I would love to not have it [HIV] but I just have to give thanks because out of the bad… I am experiencing good… I am meeting a lot of persons who I can interact with and just talk on a regular basis; the [Jamaica AIDS Support for Life (JASL)] programmes are there [for us] to empower each other and even to learn and to grow as individuals, outside of HIV. There are so many good [things] outweighing the bad so, all in all, I’m just grateful,” he told the Sunday Observer.

He shared that he found out he was HIV-positive after someone at church enquired about whether he had ever been tested and encouraged him to get checked. He was hesitant at first, but said the person offered to cover his expenses to get to and from the testing site, and he accepted.

When he heard he tested positive for HIV, he was devastated. He was directed to JASL and was told that they would take good care of him. At the time, he was in a 10-year relationship with a partner (now deceased) who lived overseas, but he would visit often.

“Upon my arrival there I was greeted and I felt welcomed. I was appreciative of how they treated me, and from then I started on meds right away and followed the instructions given by the team, alongside the doctor, and the rest is history,” the man said.

He later learnt that he was undetectable and believes he was given a new lease on life.

“I am totally grateful for another chance to live, because I believe that I was given a second chance and I’m not taking it for granted,” he insisted.

Since then, he’s been on a path of positivity and does not want to be derailed, so much so that he has not shared his HIV status with anyone outside JASL.

“I had to incorporate my spiritual life to really bring me to this level [of positivity] that I am at right now, because I have not shared my experience with any of my friends or my family.

“I chose not to share certain things with anybody outside [JASL] because people are on different levels of how they think and… I really don’t want any negativity — I don’t want any distractions,” he said. “I just want to keep vibrating on a positive level. Because how persons look at certain things in life, that’s okay, but I want to be on a path, and I know that I’m on a journey and I have to maintain that mindset, so I’ve not shared anything with anyone — and I’m not sure if I’m going to ever do it, but let’s see how life unfolds.”

He also shared that he has kept his “business sheltered”, so he has not experienced any discrimination because of his health status.

To those who may shun people living with HIV, he had this to say: “Sometimes good things happen out of bad, and none of us knows what the future holds for us… because, growing up, I never even imagined that I would’ve been in this state… I would tell anybody out there to give thanks, and appreciate people and try to uplift them because none of us knows what can happen to us,” said the man.

He also urged them to take the necessary precautions during sexual intercourse.

“Persons who are not living with HIV, take the precaution of going on PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis), practise safe sex; try to have one partner — even though you can have one partner and they still give it to yuh — but be on the safer side by going on PrEP, it is available and persons can go on it to prevent contracting HIV,” he implored.

While he is not currently involved with anyone, he is hoping to again find love.

“I am open and receptive to anything. I am looking forward to entering a next relationship. I have talked to several persons after [the death of his partner] and I’ve never really shared anything with anybody. In interacting with persons having the same experience, I hope I could find somebody within the space where, you know, it’s much easier, because one, you would want to be honest and tell the person but you don’t know how they would accept it. And two, you don’t know if that will cause the relationship not to work.

“I am still weighing the pros and cons and I’ll try to make the best decision when it comes, but I’m not seeing anybody — and that’s my choice,” he said.

He is also hopeful that one day he’ll be cured.

“If I’ve come this close, anything is possible,” he said.