Bessie Maruia

Bessie’s role within the National HIV/AIDS support project is to ensure that there are care, counselling and support services available for people living with HIV/AIDS. There are currently less than 150 people within Papua New Guinea that have access to ARV drugs so Bessie has been collecting donations from friends as well as fundraising to buy drugs for those infected with HIV/AIDS within her province. There are more than 10,000 people infected with AIDS in Papua New Guinea and it is estimated that there are around 45,000 to 65,000 people living with HIV. Bessie hopes that this training program will benefit her work by allowing her to better understand the work of the WTO and intellectual property rules so that she can be of more assistance to people living with HIV/AIDS in Papua New Guinea. Bessie would like to update her office with the knowledge she gains from the training as well as organise a joint project with the National Department of Health and Investment Promotion Authority upon her return.