The card is not the only way the HIV status of a patient is inadvertently revealed. Parents living with HIV battle with health practitioners who disclose the HIV status of one or both parents on a child’s Road to Health booklet, which is used to record development.

Tshabalala says she found herself in this predicament in 2011 when her HIV status was disclosed on her child’s booklet.

“As much as I am open about my status, it doesn’t have to be written on my child’s card because that’s not my child’s information. Now you are disclosing my status.”

She had a heated discussion with her medical practitioner, who later understood her point. 

The parent is not the only person who has access to the child’s booklet. The child’s nanny or teacher also sees it.

“Now the person can see the mother is HIV-positive. As much as we know we have [programmes that prevent transmission] from mother to child, sometimes people are ill-informed. The child can be discriminated against as a result,” she says. 

Communities need to educate themselves to fight stigma, says Tshabalala.

“For instance, we have Covid-19. Everyone is eager to know what it is because it affects everyone. Although there is stigma, everyone still wants to know what Covid-19 is.”

This enthusiasm should also be directed towards learning about HIV, Tshabalala says, because not everyone knows enough about the virus. 

• This article was first published by New Frame