Princess Kasune Zulu is an HIV-positive woman from Zambia whose entire family lost their lives to AIDS. As a young girl, Princess volunteered in local hospitals to care for HIV/AIDS patients. As a young woman, she hitch-hiked across Zambia to educate truck drivers about HIV/AIDS and methods they could use to protect themselves.
Princess began two foundations to help children who were orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS. In 1997, she gave up her home to create the Foundation of Life School, a school and home for orphans. Princess is the AIDS educator for World Vision Hope Initiative in Zambia. With this organization, she trains partner organizations on proper methods of care and teaches children and young people prevention methods. In 2000, she began to host a radio program called Positive Living. In 2002, Princess spoke at the 14th Annual International AIDS Conference in Barcelona, Spain.
Princess acknowledges gender issues and cultural practices as being factors that affect women when it comes to issues that relate to HIV/AIDS. Part of this realization stemmed from her personal experience when a doctor refused to give her an HIV test without permission from her husband. Since then, Princess emphasizes these issues as highly important when discussing prevention methods and treatment for HIV/AIDS.
Information on HIV/AIDS in Zambia, end of 2003
Adult* HIV prevalence rate:
16.5%
Adults living with HIV: 830,000
Adults and children living with HIV: 920,000
Women Living with HIV: 470,000
AIDS deaths (adults and children): 89,000
*Adult statistics for persons 15-49 years old
**statistics from deaths that occurred in 2003
Source: UNAIDS
Related Websites
The official website for World Vision International.
http://www.wvi.org/wvi/aids/global_aids.htm
The official homepage for the HIV/AIDS Hope Initiative of World Vision International.
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Princess Kasune Zulu |
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