Melania Mugamu was diagnosed with HIV at the age of 39 in 1994.
A mother of three adult children and 10 grandchildren, Melania changed her profession from banking to social work to pursue her passion for using her lived experience to do HIV support work.
With full-blown AIDS, she accessed treatment in 2003 in Harare, Zimbabwe, as a participant in the Development of AntiRetroviral Therapy in Africa (DART) Study.
Melania has over 13 years of HIV work experience in Zimbabwe, both as a volunteer and a formally employed social worker and counsellor. She worked for four years at the Newlands HIV Clinic in Harare, a Ruedi Leuthy Foundation (formerly Swiss AIDS Care Foundation) project that manages over 6,000 clients.
She worked at Positive Women Victoria for most of 2018 as a volunteer. Melania works for Queensland Positive People as a peer treatment facilitator, a role that includes case management and peer navigation. Her work focuses on supporting people living with HIV in addressing complex barriers to accessing and remaining in HIV care and treatment.
She is interested and involved in awareness, wellness, research and ageing for people living with HIV. She is very excited about the possibility of a cure for HIV.