People living with HIV

Positive prevention

Positive prevention has been increasingly recognized as an effective building block of overall HIV prevention. It aims at protecting the health of People Living With HIV (PLHIV) while at the same time preventing HIV transmission. Positive prevention as we understand it, is guided by human rights principles and aims at ensuring the sexual and reproductive health and rights of PLHIV.

Positive prevention with and for PLHIV creates an enabling environment, in which PLHIV can take control over their health. This includes coping with the social, psychological and medical impact of living with HIV. Structural factors, like the socio-economic and ethnic background of an individual, and the migration experience, have an important influence on how people perceive living with HIV (for instance the importance of having a child, breastfeeding, religion, stigma, etc.). The culturally sensitive and tailored psychosocial support that we offer, takes all of these factors into account. Complementary to the multidisciplinary care delivered by the HIV Reference Centers, we organize patient support groups, offer individual counseling by a counsellor of Sub-Saharan African origin, peer support, and workshops on coping with HIV. In addition, we give advice for professional HIV service providers who may have specific questions about how to deal with culturally specific issues in supporting PLHIV.

Are you looking for support?

• Contact Charles Ddungu
  • +32 (0)479 500 398
  • ddungu.charles@sensoa.be

• Other organisations offering patient support in Belgium
  • Sensoa: individual patient support, peer support and a monthly hiv-café, based in Antwerp
  • Vhiva: support group for women living with HIV, based in Antwerp
  • Lhiving: psychosocial support to people living with HIV or another chronic illness living in poverty, based in Brussels
  • Libiki : peer support for Africans living with HIV, based in Brussels
  • Plat-forme Sida: individual patient support, peer support and patient groups, based in Brussels
  • Sidasol Liège
• Relevant websites:
  • Leven met hiv– Positief met Sensoa
  • NAZ– Mobilising Black and Minority Ethnic communities for sexual health
  • aids map: HIV/aids sharing knowledge, changing lives
  • AHPN: African health Policy Network. Improving Health and wellbeing
  • Lifeboat: HIV, daring to share…
  • Terrence Higgings Trust
  • Positively UK
  • HIV Vereniging Nederland
  • AIDS Hilfe Schweiz