Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live At Daybreak
UNICEF Panel Members Discuss Youth Leadership in HIV Prevention
Aired June 26, 2001 - 07:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LINDA STOUFFER, CNN ANCHOR: UNICEF is also putting a spotlight on AIDS this week. It is holding two panel discussions. One is focusing on orphans and vulnerable children, and the other on youth leadership in HIV prevention.
Three of the participants are joining us now from New York, to talk about all of this. Milos Stojanovic is a 22-year-old dentistry student from Belgrade. Farai Mahaso is a 23-year-old from Zimbabwe who's raising three siblings after losing both of his parents to AIDS. And Cathy Phiri is a 21-year-old from Zambia who is a UNICEF youth journalist.
Welcome to all three of you. All of three of you are in your 20s, all have had AIDS and HIV touch your lives in some way.
Farai, I want to begin with you. Can you tell us about your story and what it was like for you when your mother went public about her HIV infection?
FARAI MAHASO, UNICEF PANELIST: When my mother went public about HIV, it was a very difficult moment for us. We were discriminated against. We were treated as social outcasts. You know, the first thing that happened to me was denial. And we pledged to deny, but no, that wasn't the fix. And it was very hard for us to come to grips with what had happened to our mother.
STOUFFER: And, Cathy, if I can move onto you for a moment. You work as a journalist. You try to get information out in Zambia. Can you give us a sense of what you face? Is there misinformation in your country?
CATHY PHIRI, UNICEF YOUTH JOURNALIST: There is a lot of misinformation because it's quite hard to access information in Zambia. So a lot of information has gone from young people through their friends, which is often incorrect.
STOUFFER: And I know that it actually touched a friend of yours. You had an uncle and a friend who had HIV infection. And did they not really know what they had? Can you give us a sense of what doctors are telling their patients?
PHIRI: Some doctors do tell their patients that they're HIV positive, but other doctors don't. They sort of keep it a secret or tell the family instead of telling the actual person.
STOUFFER: In this country, we hear so much about testing and prevention, but what was it like for you to watch your uncle and your friend go through that with some confusion on their end?
PHIRI: I thought it was quite sad because they didn't know what was happening to them. They just knew their bodies were like wasting away. And nobody would give them their answers. So I think they were really depressed, and that probably even quickened their time to go, because if you don't know what's happening to you, it can be all rather depressing.
STOUFFER: So what do you try to do through your work as a journalist? What do you try to get across?
PHIRI: What we do is get the message of prevention through safe sex out, and we also advocate for HIV testing, because a lot of people think that once you get AIDS, that's it, you're dead. So we say there is life after being diagnosed positive. And if you're negative, it's a great way to change your behavior.
STOUFFER: And (inaudible), I want to move on to you and your experience working to make a difference in Yugoslavia. You work with young people every day. When you listen to these other two people who are speaking now, what's different about what you face in Yugoslavia?
MILOS STOJANOVIC, UNICEF PANELIST: Can you repeat that, please?
STOUFFER: Sure. You're hearing from people from all over the world at this conference, and as you listen to our other two guests, what's different about what you face every day with your work with young people in Yugoslavia?
STOJANOVIC: Well, it is not different at all. Youth are the main problem of the AIDS in my country, and it's really the main problem in all countries here. And what I want to say to these people is that youth can really make a difference. And I'm really trying to transfer my knowledge.
What I'm going to say on my panel session Wednesday, tomorrow, is that youth are really essential and the crucial thing for fighting against AIDS.
STOUFFER: Milos, what do you think is really the biggest problem that faces you and other people who are working to battle these issues that face patients with HIV and AIDS, and also your countries as they try to get a handle on the issues?
STOJANOVIC: I think the biggest problem is the discrimination. Discrimination in a way that they don't know the problem, they are not aware of the problem, and they just discriminate the people in every way: on work -- in every way possible. We are just trying to figure that now, by doing some things. I think that it's really the biggest problem.
STOUFFER: And Farai, let me get back to you. What do you see as the biggest problem in this whole issue?
MAHASO: I think the biggest problem is now people don't treat AIDS as a normal disease like any other. This is discrimination. People think that if someone is HIV positive, they cannot do something for themselves. So I can say there's discrimination, there's stigmatization, and this is really what I think is the biggest problem in this.
STOUFFER: I hope the discussions and educational efforts that are being made in New York this week help you and help encourage you to bring good news and good efforts back to your countries. Milos Stojanovic, Farai Mahaso, and Cathy Phiri, thank you very much for your time.
MAHASO: Thank you.
PERRY: Thank you.
STOJANOVIC: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
