Angela Keller, Positive Life Advisory Board


Angela Keller: Alberto, you live openly with HIV. Why?
HIV has no face, we have to show ourselves and tell people: look, I have HIV, I'm fine, I have a good life. When it comes to HIV, people immediately think of AIDS and of thin, emaciated people who are close to death. But we have entered a new era: HIV is different. 

Alberto Pereira da Silva: What is the image of HIV in Brazil?
It is still strongly influenced by the famous singer Cazuza, who died of AIDS in 1990. But that was 34 years ago! People still die today, but they die because the stigma surrounding HIV is so great: they feel isolated, lonely, depressed and, above all, do not dare to go to the doctor and take medication. And yet we have free access to the drugs in Brazil – ART and PrEP are free of charge.

What good knowledge of HIV is there in Brazil?
It's shocking how little information there is among the population! My queer community is well informed, we know that there are drugs. The healthcare system is very good, but heterosexual people don't know that. Prevention is only aimed at homosexual men. There are always big campaigns during the carnival season. But people have sex all year round! And heterosexuals are just as affected: as a rule, straight men in Brazil don't use condoms and don't care about HIV. It's difficult for people who aren't gay to get information. We in the gay community have a duty to educate people.

What else bothers you?
The population is not aware that you are not contagious if you are undergoing successful treatment. In Brazil, many doctors even doubt U = U (Undetectable = Untransmittable), a good quarter (26%) do not believe that the virus is not transmissible if it is no longer detectable. They believe that there is no need to spread the information about U = U, but as a result, all the many prejudices continue to persist.

What does U = U – Undetectable = Untransmittable mean to you personally? 
It was an absolute game changer. Knowing that I was no longer contagious was more than a relief for me: from that moment on, I felt free.

What other myths and misconceptions about HIV are there in Brazil?
For many people, HIV and AIDS are the same thing. Many don't know how you get HIV and believe it can be transmitted through saliva or shaking hands. There is certainly a big difference between the rural population and people in the big cities. Former President Bolsonaro spread fake news: he said that the COVID vaccine causes AIDS and also slashed the budget for HIV prevention.

Do you consider yourself an activist?
I am more and more active. For example, if the media spreads false information about HIV or AIDS, I call them. I am also contacted a lot by people who have received a positive diagnosis. I support and inform them. But HIV is not my only topic, I am fundamentally committed to humanity and against discrimination. I share a lot about my life on social media. I am independent and do not work within an organisation. 


 

Alberto Pereira da Silva, 37, journalist and social artist
Lives in São Paulo, Brazil, Instagram: @albertopereirajr

How long have you been living with HIV?
I have been diagnosed since 2009. I had a kind of wart on my neck and had my blood tested for HIV, among other things. When I had to give blood again for the second test, I suspected what was going on. I received the result early in the morning, after which I worked through until the evening to finish an article. Then I went home – I still lived at home at the time – and told my family.

That sounds pretty relaxed...
The diagnosis wasn't easy, but I knew that there was medication and that I didn't have to worry about myself. The first six months after the diagnosis were hard. I didn't feel worthy of love and thought I was completely unattractive. 

How did your family react?
Very sympathetically: they supported me and took me in. I come from a middle-class background, my parents are educated and quite well informed. I had already come out as a homosexual man two years earlier, and they accepted me wholeheartedly then too. But I never went through life saying, ‘Please accept me anyway.’ I was always aware that I am the way I am.

How did your friends react? 
At first, I only told a few friends. When I was able to start the medication in 2012 – at that time the guidelines for the medication changed, and you could start the therapy even if the T-helper cell count was still high – it was a relief: I have not been contagious since then. I always came out to my sexual partners when something serious came up. And I was never rejected, no one left me because of it. Today I'm married to a negative partner. 

How did you come out?
In 2019, I took part in an art workshop about HIV, where we were asked to create something about it. I didn't just want to do something about HIV in general, but about me and HIV. I sewed a quilt based on the AIDS Memorial Quilt in the USA*, hung it on the wall and stood in front of it. On my T-shirt was written: ‘Alberto, bicha, preta, desagitario[DS1], indetectable, brasil[DS2]’ (Alberto, queer, black, gunman, undetectable, Brazilian). Next to it was a sign saying ‘Touch me’, in contrast to the signs in museums that say ‘Do not touch’. After this art event, I told a wider circle of friends about my diagnosis and gave an interview in a magazine. 

What was the reaction?
I met with a lot of understanding and sympathy. Nothing like discrimination. Many people said: Why didn't you tell us before, you could have told me! I haven't had any negative feedback on social media either. But I was never afraid of that, because I don't care what others think of me. I try to show that HIV is something normal that you can live with well.

You travelled to the World AIDS Conference in Munich. What are you experiencing here?
I was invited by M-Pact**, a global organisation that promotes the health and rights of gay men. I'm discovering many new projects here, exchanging ideas and meeting a wide variety of people. Above all, I want to connect with the community – and expand our network. 

What positive changes has your HIV diagnosis brought about in your life?
I am more aware of my body and my health. Speaking about it has made me stronger. I am who I am. 
 

* The Names Project Aids Memorial Quilt commemorates the lives of people who have died of AIDS-related causes. The quilt weighs around 54 tonnes and was started in San Francisco in 1987. It is the world's largest work of art created by a community of needleworkers. The quilt is stored in Atlanta and continues to grow.

M-Pact Global Action for Gay Men's Health & Rights, founded in 2006 by an international group of activists as The Global Forum on MSM & HIV (MSMGF).

 

Brazil and HIV:
Around one million people in Brazil are living with HIV, 78 per cent of whom are taking ART. Brazil has the highest HIV rate of any South American country. 110,000 people are taking PrEP.

U = U (Undetectable = Untransmittable),
The Undetectable = Untransmittable (U = U) message is used in HIV campaigns. It states that people with HIV who are successfully treated cannot transmit HIV. U = U is supported by the World Health Organization (WHO). The U = U campaign was launched in early 2016 by the Prevention Access Campaign in New York. It aims to reduce the stigma of HIV in order to improve the quality of life of those affected and thus end the epidemic.