This blog first appeared on the Huffington Post . By Lebogang Motsumi

I was first diagnosed with HIV eight years ago, and only then did I notice that every year, the international community comes together to celebrate the progress they have made in fighting this virus.

This progress is reported by the United Nations, which tracks the number of people around the world who take the drugs that I take. The UN is proud–justifiably so–that more and more people who have HIV can keep the infection in check.

These drugs, known as antiretroviral medicines, or ARVs, stop the virus from spreading and knocking out my immune system. The drugs help … Read more →