Stigma and access to health care: case of people living with HIV/AIDS in Cameroon

Background: One of the most common notions arising in studies of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection from the 1980s to the 2000s is that of stigma. A consequence of lack of access to antiviral therapy between the 1980’s and 1990’s was the death of many patients. At this stage, the patient’s bodies were desexualized, disfigured [1, 2]. Method: Based on the anthropological research carried out within the framework of the project EVOLCAM ANRS 12288 (Evolution of Cameroon's program of HIV care and co-infections) conducted in Cameroon from 2014 to 2015, in the cities of Yaoundé and Douala, this paper aims to analyze the notion of stigma as an issue of social justice with respect to the right to health. Result: The study shows that body normalization, stigma continues to be a great challenge in access of people living with HIV to health care there is a culture of Secrecy. Kinship solidarity plays an important role in care expenditure. The informant still feel the need to hide their drugs in order to avoid stigma. The embodiment of self disentification is the result of three medical artefacts: « CD4-medicine-scale ». HIV/AIDS stills continue to be link to death. Conclusion: The ambivalence of the imagery about HIV positive status and AIDS disease contribute to the exclusion of people living with HIV/AIDS. This is a risk given the uncertainty of financing, as many informants rely on the financial support of their relatives who work in small businesses depending on the amount of their daily earnings. Therefore, access to health care for people living with HIV/AIDS continues to be a challenge not only for people living with HIV/AIDS but also for their relatives.