Fulfilling fatherhood: experiences from HIV positive fathers

Men living with HIV speak about being fathers

Published by: International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF); The Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (GNP+) / International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) , 2005
Via: Eldis

This document from the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+) highlights some of the issues facing men who are living with HIV and who are fathers. It contains thirteen personal accounts by men living with HIV in various countries in Europe, Africa, Asia, and North and South America.

The men are in a variety of different family arrangements. They discuss how they disclosed their status to their children and how living with HIV has affected their relationship with their children. Some of the men also discuss how they made a decision with their partner to become a parent after being diagnosed, and the younger men discuss their feelings about the possibility of making that decision in the future. Those fathers living in poor countries express their anxieties about their children’s future should illness or death mean that they will not be able to provide for them. All of the men express their commitment to working to end the stigma around HIV and believe that fathers living with HIV can play an important role in communicating messages about HIV prevention.