David Urbina at AIDS conference

David in Mexico has had HIV for over twenty years

David Urbina at the world AIDS comference in Mexico

The International world AIDS conference 2008 has been held in Mexico City. It brings together thousands of activists, scientists and ordinary people with HIV.

David Urbina was there and has been acting as citizen journalist for the Your Story project. He himself has been HIV positive for over twenty years and he's been speaking to other people at the conference about living with the virus now - in the light of all the latest drug treatments available.

He speaks to seventeen year old Karina from Brazil who tells him about the pressures that young people with the virus face.

Despite the advances being made by the Brazilian government in making anti HIV drugs free and available for sufferers, sometimes in practise the treatment is not available, so Karina says she sometimes has to go without. Coming off the medication has led her to developing a resistance to many of the drugs on the market.

David with 17 year old karina from Brazil and another delegate from the AIDS conference in Mexico

She also says that there is a stigma to taking the drugs as it can lead to lipodystrophy which makes the face have sunken cheeks and tight skin. She says this shows the AIDS in peoples' faces is a social killer in Brazil.

David also speaks to Esperanza - a Mexican woman with a message of hope. After she was diagonosed with the virus, she and her husband had a baby who is now five years old and healthy. She says her boy is the light of her life.