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Journo makes HIV status public

    JOHANNESBURG

    A Mozambican journalist is in the media spotlight for being HIV positive, the South African Press Association (SAPA) reported on Thursday.

    Bento Bango made public his HIV-positive status at a press conference, following a test he took at Maputo Central Hospital last month.

    "I decided to call a press conference to break the silence, and to stop my colleagues and friends gossiping about me", Bango said.

    He was recently evicted from his home and has called on the government and general public for support.

    He said he had only now started feeling "the sting of discrimination".

    HIV/AIDS-related stigma is rife in Mozambique, despite figures suggesting that life expectancy in the country could drop to under 40 years by 2010, due to the pandemic.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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