A 36-year-old professor from Zambia, Samson Tembo, has found a partner after publicly disclosing his HIV positive status. His new wife, 38-year-old Nzila, is also HIV positive and actively works to combat the stigma surrounding the disease.
The couple met through a program aimed at fighting HIV stigma. Following his public disclosure, Professor Tembo received numerous messages from HIV positive women interested in marrying him. In an interview, he recalled, "Soon after the program, I received 82 text messages from HIV positive ladies asking if I can marry them. Then I was interviewed and my full story about my HIV status came out in the New Year’s Day AIDS Corner column in the Sunday Times and I received more than 2, 000 marriage inquiries."
Nzila emphasized the importance of getting tested, revealing one's status, and living a happy, fulfilling life. She advised, "When you test HIV positive, you must not despair. Don’t go into depression and as for couples, they should not start the blame game of who has brought HIV in the home but instead they should concentrate on treatment and encouraging others out there either to remain negative or adhere with the treatment."
The couple encourages others to follow their example, promoting a message of hope and acceptance for those living with HIV.
The recovered account cited reporting by Tuko.
