When I got a positive result, I gave myself up for dead.

A doctor prescribed a series of 20 injections. He told me they would cure me. So I went 20 times, for 20 injections. It took four months, and didn't change anything. For years, I fell ill regularly. I'd go to the dispensary, where they'd diagnose parasitic infections.

In 2002 I went to MSF's walk-in treatment centre (CTA) in Kabinda where I met Paul, a counsellor, and Mama Aline, a nurse. They asked me, "How have you managed to live with HIV for so long?" [© Denise/MSF]