'People are still afraid of those three letters': Fighting the stigma of HIV
That's a quote from former rugby star Gareth Thomas, who is HIV positive. At the International AIDS Conference in Rio this year, he spoke out about the isolation and discrimination tied to the virus. (Image credit: Ian Cheibub for NPR)
That's a quote from former rugby star Gareth Thomas, who is HIV positive. At the International AIDS Conference in Rio this year, he spoke out about the isolation and discrimination tied to the virus.
(Image credit: Ian Cheibub for NPR)
Retired rugby star Gareth Thomas, who is HIV positive, came to Rio de Janeiro's famed Ipanema Beach to participate in a campaign called "Tackle HIV." Ian Cheibub for NPR hide caption
RIO DE JANEIRO -- "People are still afraid of those three letters," says Gareth Thomas, a former Welsh rugby star.
He's talking about HIV. Thomas became a global champion for people living with HIV when he announced that he was HIV positive in 2019.
Since then, he has been a strong advocate for sharing knowledge about the virus –- and what it's like to live with it.
This summer, he came to Rio de Janeiro to participate in the International AIDS Conference and to spread his message as part of the Tackle HIV campaign .
That message resonates with another advocate: Welton Gabriel, a 36-year-old event organizer from Sao Paolo.