Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
BBC News - Wednesday, 28 August, 2002
Journalist Lucky Mazibuko, who is HIV-positive, said he was not taking the medication he needed, because he wanted to highlight the plight of millions of fellow sufferers in South Africa.
President Thabo Mbeki has been criticised for questioning the link between HIV and Aids and for his apparent reluctance to make anti-retroviral drugs more widely available.
Availability
At present, the drugs, which can prolong life for many years, are available only to people with medical insurance. But most of the population rely on state hospitals, where the treatment is not available.
Mr Mazibuko told BBC's HARDtalk: "At the moment I'm not taking any anti-retroviral treatment in particular because it is not accessible to everyone else.
"This is the sacrifice I have made, but I think I had made it hoping that it would speed things up."
His decision has already had an effect on his health. He explained: "Last year I went to the doctor eight times and it has never happened before. Usually it's once or twice a year.
"I don't know whether it's the anxiousness of having lived for ten years with HIV, or whatever it is, but steadily my body is taking a beating."
Progress
But Mr Mazibuko, a member of the South African National Aids Council and a Director of HIV/Aids at the Nelson Mandela Foundation, said progress was being made. He felt encouraged by a change in attitude in South Africa towards being HIV-positive, which used to be seen as a death sentence.
He said: "The fact that it was portrayed as a death sentence meant that if you had it, then you had done something wrong.
"It doesn't matter whether you had been raped and you got infected. It didn't matter whether you were promiscuous and got infected.
"It didn't matter whether you got it through a blood transfusion, but everyone was blanketed as evil."
And he added that he hoped that his work had promoted awareness of the disease, and had also provided encouragement.
He said: "In a way I feel fulfilled that people can look forward to hearing from one who is HIV infected."
"I think somehow I'm making a contribution. Whether it's in a huge way or it's making a big difference, I'm not sure, but I can only do what I can."
Just last month, former South African president Nelson Mandela stepped in when another high profile Aids campaigner, Zackie Achmat, revealed that he, too, was refusing treatment to highlight the lack of drugs for all.
It prompted Mr Mandela to try to meet his successor Thabo Mbeki to change the government's stance.
The interview can be watched in full on Wednesday 28 August on BBC World and BBC News 24 at the following times:
BBC News 24 (times shown in BST) 0430, repeated 2230
BBC World (times shown in GMT) 0330, repeated 0830, 1130, 1530, 1830, 2330
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