"HIV/AIDS is still one of the worst public health epidemics and the biggest emergency in contemporary history, with 40.4 million lives lost since the 1980s (UNAIDS, 2023). Sub-Saharan Africa bears the highest burden, home to 67% of global HIV cases despite representing only 14% of the world’s population (UNAIDS, 2023). In Zimbabwe, where 1.3 million people live with HIV, structural inequities—colonial legacies, economic collapse, and gender inequality—have exacerbated vulnerability. While PEPFAR-funded programs once drove progress, recent U.S. policy shifts threaten to reverse gains, risking 128,000 additional annual deaths (Health GAP, 2024).
This paper employs a biosocial framework, integrating Paul Farmer’s structural violence theory and Arthur Kleinman’s social suffering lens, to argue that HIV is not merely biomedical but a product of systemic injustice. Through personal narratives like Rosezella’s and Makanaka’s, I highlight how poverty, stigma, and gender disparities constrain agency and care access. I propose two media interventions: (1) a critique of Lenacapavir’s inequitable pricing, and (2) an interactive digital archive amplifying patient voices to advocate for policy reform. By centering lived experiences, this project challenges dominant narratives and calls for sustainable solutions."