Antigua marked World AIDS Day 2025 with a clear message about health rights and legal protection for people living with HIV. This year’s global theme, “Take the rights path: My health, my right!”, pushed nations to confront long-standing inequalities in HIV care and prevention.

During an interview on Observer AM, HIV/AIDS Clinical Care Coordinator Dr. Maria Pereira explained current workplace protections and emphasized the urgent need for stronger enforcement.

She said, “The law makes it illegal to fire someone because they are HIV-positive. The workplace guidelines clearly support this. However, we now need stronger laws to reinforce these protections, because people living with HIV can work well and perform like anyone else.”

Next, Dr. Pereira addressed a major misconception about HIV and outlined how untreated HIV progresses.

She noted that HIV follows a very specific timeline without proper medication.
“If a person does not take antiretroviral medication, the virus continues to multiply. After about 10 to 11 years without treatment, white blood cell levels fall significantly,” she explained.

Furthermore, she highlighted the health risks that emerge as the immune system weakens.
“We are always exposed to bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Without a strong immune system, those organisms can attack,” she said.

Dr. Pereira added that untreated HIV often leads to rashes, cancers, and serious infections. Over a decade, the immune system breaks down in several stages until the body can no longer cope.

“In the final stage, people face weight loss, diarrhea, vomiting, skin rashes, cancers, and repeated infections,” she said.

After describing the medical progression, Dr. Pereira urged the public to take action. She encouraged everyone to get tested and reminded HIV-positive individuals that free medication remains available at the AIDS Secretariat.

She reinforced three key messages: protect yourself, test regularly, and for young people, choose abstinence as the safest option.

As World AIDS Day came to a close, health officials repeated a critical point: HIV is manageable, and with treatment, people can live full and productive lives. Nevertheless, discrimination, silence, and fear still create barriers—and Antigua and Barbuda must strengthen its laws to fully defend the rights of every worker.

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