Dr. Rosette Breaks Stigma and Discrimination within the DRC – Stories

December 9, 2024

“When we take the oath, we pledge to care for the people, regardless of their problem. If someone is suffering and I can give them knowledge that can heal them, I cannot not do it.”

Dr. Rosette is the chief medical officer at Center Convivial, a drop-in facility within the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kinshasa, run by Global Fund partners BWANYA and PASCO. The center is a protected space for people who find themselves disproportionately affected by HIV but stigma and discrimination prevent them from accessing health care. This includes sex employees and folks from the LGBTQI+ community.

Dr. Rosette and her team make sure that everyone visiting the middle has free access to health services, including HIV prevention, testing and treatment, in addition to psychosocial support and legal counseling.

She says a part of their job is to persuade clients of their value, self-confidence and right to live freely – despite the sexual violence, harassment and trauma they might experience.

“Key populations internalize stigma and discrimination due to overall community attitudes,” he says. “They have the right to live like any other human being.”

Access to justice and life-saving health care are human rights.

Since 2017, the Global Fund’s Breaking Down Barriers initiative has invested greater than $200 million in groundbreaking efforts in 24 countries to beat barriers to laws, policies and practices that limit people’s access to health services.

Investment priorities include reducing stigma and discrimination in health care and other settings, increasing legal literacy and access to justice for key and vulnerable populations, and community-led efforts to reform harmful laws, policies and practices.

The Breaking Down Barriers initiative puts knowledge and skills into the hands of individuals affected by HIV, tuberculosis and malaria in order that they can understand, claim and safeguard their human rights related to health.