The History Speakers Series invites everyone to a talk by AIDS activist Ida Mukuka on the history and continuing impact of HIV/AIDS in Africa and the critical role of women and grandparents in awareness and prevention.
About Ida Mukuka
Ida Numbeya Mukuka, from Zambia, Africa knows all too well the impact of HIV-AIDS on communities in her home continent. In 2001, soon after her husband and brother died of AIDS, she began working as an HIV counsellor in Lusaka, Zambia. As a gifted counsellor, Ida advised HIV-positive pregnant women on the prevention of mother-to-child transmission and provided support to people living with HIV. As the Director of Community Outreach at the Center for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia, she developed a peer education program where people living with HIV and AIDS provide counselling and support services in public clinics offering antiretroviral drugs. Since 2007, Ida has served as the field representative for the Stephen Lewis Foundation in Africa, where she uses her extensive knowledge and experience to help build the capacity of grassroots AIDS organizations throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
Over 30 million people have died of AIDS in Africa, leaving millions of orphans behind. Ida will discuss the devastating affects of this disease on community and family relationships and the experiences of grandparents who care for their grandchildren whose parents have died from HIV or AIDS.
Refreshments will be served.