When Papua New Guinea's Maura Elaripe was diagnosed with HIV she thought it was a death sentence, but 10 years later she is still fighting the disease and the fear and stigma associated with it in her homeland.
The 31-year-old former nurse said many afflicted with the disease are left untreated to die in Papua New Guinea, a developing nation where black magic still rules many people's lives.
"I saw people dying in front of me -- deaths which could have been prevented," Elaripe told Reuters at the International AIDS Society conference on Monday.
"I saw a 16-year-old die just next to my bed. They said we don't want to waste our medicine on her. Another woman with HIV died and was put in a black garbage bag and they disposed of the body...that freaked me out. I was so scared," she said.
HIV/Aids has found fertile ground in Papua New Guinea, a jungle-clad, mountainous nation, where polygamy is common and rape and sexual violence widespread.
Officially there are only about 12,000 people infected, but Aids workers estimate that under-reporting and reluctance to be tested mean the real number ranges from 80,000 to 120,000.
The island's 5.4 million people, most of whom live a rural subsistence life, presently face an epidemic on a par with Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand. An estimated 300,000 people are expected to die due to HIV/Aids by 2025.
Papua New Guinea Health Minister Peter Barter told reporters at the world's largest Aids conference that polygamy was a major obstacle in the fight against HIV/Aids in his country.
"In many parts of Papua New Guinea a person can have up to 5 or 6 wives and 20 children. We have to change that behaviour, its a cultural matter and it will take some time to do it," he said.
