Milika Banda (not her real name) is a 17-year-old young and vibrant adolescent girl living with HIV from Vubwi district in Eastern Province. Having lost her twin sister at the tender age of 3 months and frequenting hospitals due to her failing health, Milika’s mother, Charity Banda (not her real name), says Milika has had a tough childhood.

Her story began in 2014 at age 7 when her mother decided to take her to the hospital following prolonged ill health at home, which affected her school life. After the diagnosis, Milika was informed by the doctor that she was HIV positive and that she got infected through mother-to-child transmission. She was immediately put on antiretroviral therapy (ART).

“Much as I didn’t have a full understanding of what HIV was at that age, I could sense that it was something serious. My heart was not at peace. In my mind, my life had come to an end,” Milika recounts.

She says life became extremely difficult for her when some of her family members and friends learnt of her status. Milika says some of her friends mocked her and accused her of being negligent in contracting HIV.

“I felt stigmatised everywhere. The most painful experience was when some of my friends at school refused to share a seat with me, saying they didn’t want to contract HIV from me,” Milika recalls.

At this point, she had concluded that dying was a better option.

“I even stopped taking the medication. I just wanted to die and leave this miserable life,” the visibly emotional Milika narrated.

However, life took a positive turn for Milika in 2023 when she was introduced to the Mwami Hospital Common Elements Treatment Approach (CETA) mental health provider Angela Kangwa.

“The doctor decided to link me to Aunt Angela after noticing that my viral load was very high and learning that I was not consistently taking my medication,” she said.

Milika, now beaming with a lot of life and vigour, says life has never been the same since she met Angela.

She says whilst previously she used to be accompanied by her mother to attend her counselling sessions for fear of her absconding, she started travelling the close to 33KM bicycle journey from Vubwi district to Mwami Hospital alone until she concluded her personalised 12-week CETA program.

Angela Kangwa, the CETA mental health provider at Mwami Hospital, affirms that Milika had been very consistent with her counselling sessions.

“Her viral load is now suppressed, and she is living a healthy life after concluding her counselling sessions,” Angela confirms.

After completing her CETA programme, Milika says she is no longer bothered by what people say about her status. She currently helps in counselling other people living with HIV in her community and linking them to her counsellor, Angela.

Milika now harbours ambitions of completing her education and becoming a medical doctor.

“When I grow up, I want to be a doctor so that I can take care of myself and my children. Once I am a doctor, I will know how to protect my children from contracting HIV, unlike me, who got it from my mother,” she explains.

She is now appealing to well-wishers who can support her in finishing her education and realise her dream of becoming a medical doctor.

Milika is among the 1,120 People Living with HIV (PLWHIV) in 4 (four) provinces of Zambia who completed the mental health counselling program provided by the Centre for Infection Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ) in partnership with the Ministry of Health with the Eastern Province Health Office playing a critical role in facilitating the identification of beneficiaries in the province in 2023.

CETA is sponsored by the Centers for Infectious Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC). It is a scientifically proven multi-problem intervention, combining treatments for a range of mental health issues aimed at addressing mental health problems among people living with HIV.