Thank you.
I'm truly humbled and honoured to be here today, being in a room with so many respected people. I would like to see all protocols observed.
My name is Loyce and I live in Zimbabwe. In 2000 I lost both my mother and my younger brother in the same week due to AIDS-related illnesses, and it was one of the most devastating moments for me, losing the people who were close to my heart.
In 2004 I started getting severely sick. I was coughing a lot and I lost weight. By that time, I was only 12 years old. That's when I was sent to the clinic and it was found that I had tuberculosis and HIV. Knowing about it was one of the scariest things, because back then people knew that if you had HIV you were going to die anytime soon.
When I found out about it, I cried. I lost all of my confidence and I thought I was going to die, just like how my mother and my younger brother passed away due to AIDS, but I am very lucky that I was one of the fortunate in 2004. I managed to get access to tuberculosis treatment from a Global Fund-supported clinic. If it were not for the Global Fund support in Zimbabwe, I would not be here today.
On that note, I would really like to thank Canada for investing in the Global Fund over the past years, because it also contributed to my being alive and healthy today—and not only me, but millions of people across the world who are being supported through the Global Fund.
With your leadership here, we're really looking forward to your supporting us and pushing this agenda to make sure Canada continues investing in the Global Fund so that no babies will be born with HIV, just the way I was. No child should stop school because they're sick, because we know what needs to be done. We must make sure that no one feels they cannot access treatment, because we know what can be done for someone who accesses antiretroviral therapy or tuberculosis medicine, and this can only be done if Canada continues investing in the Global Fund.
With those words, I would like to say thank you very much.