Wakakosha “You are Worth it”: Reported impact of a community-based, peer-led HIV self-stigma intervention to improve self-worth and wellbeing among young people living with HIV in Zimbabwe

Self-stigma - negative self-judgements or core beliefs - can result in feelings of shame, worthlessness and self-blame, and impacts social interaction, mental health and health service utilization among people living with HIV (PLHIV). Few interventions target self-stigma among PLHIV and, to our knowledge, none until now for adolescents and young people LHIV (AYPLHIV) in sub-Saharan Africa. We present qualitative findings on the perceived impact of a self-stigma intervention (Wakakosha, ‘You are worth it’).