World AIDS Day: Celebrities living with HIV/AIDS

According to hiv.gov, approximately 38-million people worldwide have HIV or AIDS. 

Aidsmap.com reports that South Africa has the largest HIV epidemic in the world, with 7.7-million people currently living with HIV. 

Before medication to treat HIV/AIDS was available, millions of lives were lost to the disease. However, since drugs used to treat HIV - antiretroviral drugs (ARVs), have been introduced, many lives have been saved. 

The stigma around HIV/AIDS has also reduced as more people are opening up about living with the disease. 

Let's look at celebrities who are living with the disease and those who have dedicated their lives to the fighting the stigma around HIV/AIDS. 

Charlie Sheen

American actor Charlie Sheen has been living with HIV/AIDS since 2011. In a 2015 exclusive interview on The Today Show, he revealed that he was diagnosed with the deadly virus four years ago. 

The actor also revealed how hard it was to learn his HIV status. He described HIV as a "hard three letters to absorb". 

Criselda Kananda

South African media personality Criselda Kananda has never shied away from talking about her battles with HIV/ AIDS. 

The HIV/AIDS ambassador often shares the importance of working together to end the stigma around HIV/AIDS and to work together to ensure lives are saved. 

She has revealed how she was told she has only two years to live after being diagnosed with the disease, but is still alive more than twenty years later.

 Van Ness

'Queer Eye' star Van Ness has also been battling with the deadly virus. 

The star says being diagnosed with HIV/AIDS has given him a reason to fight. 

“I absolutely do not think I’d have been as socially aware or conscious or want to make as much of a difference. It gave me a reason to really fight," he told The Guardian. 

Ongina

Actor Ongina is an HIV/AIDS activist. She says that since being diagnosed with HIV, she has been helping others to open up about living with the disease to reduce the stigma. 

"It also became an inspiration for others to live out loud about being HIV positive. I'm happy to have helped people come to terms, like I did, with their status," she told amfAR in 2017.

Image courtesy of Instagram/ @Charliesheen