From HIV patient to health advocate

Testing HIV positive in 2007, Scholastica Goagoses’ diagnosis was the most difficult news she has ever received.

This was due to limited information, stigma, and discrimination associated with the virus.

“I feared dying and started abusing alcohol and drugs. My body was weak, and at the same time I was also diagnosed with tuberculosis in 2010. I weighed a mere 27kg then,” she says.

Goagoses (48), who is from Windhoek, today describes herself as a life-saving HIV case manager.

She works for Key Populations Strengthening Technical Assistance Response (KP-Star), a United States-funded project which provides health and other crucial services to people who are at risk of contracting HIV in Namibia.

“When doctors put me on HIV treatment, I did not take my medication regularly, and as a result, my immune system started to weaken,” she says.

“It was a struggle to adhere to the treatment, which made me move from one clinic to another, re-registering as a newly diagnosed HIV patient.

“I did that to avoid the stigma and discrimination patients fear when skipping their medication,” she says.

Goagoses experienced a turning point when she got the opportunity to become a peer educator on condition that she takes her health seriously.

A peer educator reaches out to other community members affected by HIV to convince them to receive professional care and treatment.

“It took me several weeks contemplating whether I wanted to continue being who I was, or change my life and start afresh,” she says.

Goagoses says changing her attitude would not only be beneficial to herself, but to her peers too.

“I saw the need to help my peers take up HIV services and control of my own life,” she says.

Goagoses has also been recruited as a case manager at Gobabis under the KP-Star project due to her determination.

Her role is to ensure clients who test HIV positive receive antiretroviral treatment (ART), becoming virally suppressed, and stay on their treatment.

This means a blood test does not detect the virus any more, and the patient can no longer transmit it.

Goagoses ensures that patients who test HIV negative and are at high risk of acquiring the virus are getting pre-exposure prophylaxis (Prep) medication, which reduces the risk of HIV infection significantly.

She also provides other health and social support services to those in need.

“Being a case manager has been a life changer, considering my own defaulting history. I first had to evaluate myself,” she says.

“As a case manager, I am committed to helping anyone, including people who may feel marginalised, such as women sex workers living with HIV, to lead a happy, healthy, safe and fulfilled life.

“I enjoy my work a lot. Knowing I have helped many people and made a difference in their lives is very satisfying,” Goagoses says.

She currently manages 139 clients on ART and 51 on Prep.

Omaheke regional coordinator for IntraHealth Namibia, Fayonce van Wyk, says Goagoses’ openness about her HIV status makes it easier for her to do her work.

Goagoses has received case management training from IntraHealth Namibia, and is also a certified HIV rapid tester.

She knows all her patients and their file numbers by heart, which shows a high level of commitment towards her work, Van Wyk says.

United States embassy deputy chief of mission Brandon Hudspeth says Goagoses is living testimony of how a single person can impact others to fully benefit from services provided by the Ministry of Health and Social Services in collaboration with projects such as KP-Star, and is also a good example of how to live positively and healthy with HIV.

KP-Star is funded by the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief through the United States Agency for International Development, implemented by Intrahealth Namibia.