South African Koketso Mukubani works as Community Liaison Officer for the South African Network of Drug Users with support from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
On the eve of World Hepatitis Day, which is celebrated each year on July 28, Mukubani told UN News how he was diagnosed while suffering from hepatitis. Needle Exchange Outreach Programdrug users can obtain clean, unused needles.
“My mother died of HIV when I was 14. I was a single mother. I started using drugs from then on. His death was overwhelming for me. It was for my grandmother too unbearable.
Within a week of my mother’s death, we also lost our grandfather. My grandmother became an alcoholic and sold our house because she couldn’t live with the memories.
Back then I smoked weed because I was chubby and I was so ashamed of my body. I think marijuana can help me lose weight. But after my mother died, I started using it more to cope. Then I started drinking heavily and then I went on to do heroin and anything I could think of. my life is out of control. We moved to a rural area and I couldn’t adjust. So I ran away into the street. I was 20 years old that year.
i fear for my life
I found out I was positive for Hepatitis C in the Sediba Hope Medical Center complex in Tshwane, outside Pretoria. They told me there was a plan where they would draw our blood and pay us for it.
I don’t know what my blood will be used for at the medical center. My motivation is to have money to buy more doses! So, in 2017, I agreed to start a needle exchange outreach program in Malabastad.
They explained to me that they would test me for HIV and a screening test for hepatitis B and C.
(When the results came in) I was terrified when they told me I was positive for Hepatitis C. I don’t know what hepatitis is and I fear for my life. It is said that men do not shed tears lightly, but I couldn’t help crying.
The doctor is very compassionate. He calmed me down and explained what hepatitis is and how it can be managed with a healthy lifestyle. I blame myself. I have contracted a disease from substance abuse. The prevalence of the disease among drug addicts at that time was 80%.
(Nevertheless) I went back to the streets and continued to use drugs, but the diagnosis was always on my mind.
Koketso Mukubani receives methadone at Sediba Hope.
Take back control
I want to control my addiction and take better control of my health. I joined the Community Oriented Substance Use Program at the University of Pretoria where I started Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST).
I started taking methadone, a drug used to treat opioid use disorder. They also took my blood to check the function of the liver. I didn’t miss a day. After completing the 12 week program, I had another blood draw; no virus. I have also been vaccinated against hepatitis B.
There is a family reintegration element to the program that brings me joy and relief. I started a relationship again with the people I loved, but due to the stigma, I didn’t disclose the state of my health.
My family found out when I didn’t have the virus.It makes me happy when they find out when I’m clean because the only thing i worry about is the shame. It might overwhelm me to the point that I might end up back on the streets, even more on drugs than before.
inclusive approach
We need a comprehensive harm reduction package, immediately available and easily accessible (in South Africa). We also need to expand needle exchange outreach programs, opioid substitution therapy, and testing.
We need to involve people who use drugs in the planning and implementation of all health-related initiatives and services provided to them.
These people are important for debunking rumors and identifying treatment beneficiaries. They should be hired for demand reduction work, awareness campaigns, needle distribution, etc.
We (addicts) do volunteer work, but it’s real work. We deserve to be paid the same as medical staff doing the same work. “