HEALTH
HEALTH
Being a ‘ superhero ’: The South African volunteers trialing a HIV vaccine
Gugulethu Township , South Africa ( CNN ) Every day , Luyanda Ngcobo ’ s routine is the same : It starts with a trip to the back cupboard , where safely hidden away is a bottle of nevirapine , an antiretroviral pill he has to take twice a day for the rest of his life .
“ Some young people don ’ t want to take the pills because they have that anger like , ‘ Why me ? Why do I have this particular disease and why do I need to take these pills ?’ “ he said .
But Ngcobo has never had the luxury of choice . His HIV was passed on from his mother at birth . He says the “ Why me ?” question often pops up , though it is never followed by fingerpointing .
“ I never had that blame feeling in my heart , no ,” he insisted . “ Because I know that my mother wouldn ’ t have purposely given me HIV if she knew . Not my mom . That is how she is .”
Lifesaving treatment
Ngcobo ’ s one pill taken twice a day is a far cry from the cocktail of drugs needed to combat the condition just a few years ago .
Billions of dollars in funding by the United States through the President ’ s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief means millions of people are now on lifesaving HIV treatment -- and that treatment continues to improve .
Luyanda Ngcobo says a vaccine would “ prevent cases like mine , where a kid is born with HIV and brought into this world with an illness that is incurable .”
Ngcobo ’ s medication is also more effective than previous tablets , which he says is important , because the stigma around HIV and AIDS still exists .
“ You can ’ t even cough without people feeling sorry for you ,” he said .
24 LIFE TODAY MAGAZINE Issue 1 , No . 001 / 17 / December 2016