This is a picture of an HIV-positive woman called Maire Bopp Dupont. She is the first Pacific Islander living openly with HIV. At first, she wanted to keep her infection a secret, but she realised that other could have contracted the virus, she informed her family and friends. With their support, she decided to speak out. 'I want to put a human face on HIV/AIDS, so that people can see that it can happen to anyone', said Ms. Dupont. More stories of people living with HIV/AIDS can be found at http://www.avert.org/hivliving.htm.

This photo is part of a larger HIV and AIDS picture gallery. For more HIV and AIDS photos visit http://www.avert.org/historyi.htm

Please note, that this picture of Maire Bopp Dupont is copyrighted. If you wish to use it or any part of it on your site, or in any other way, please ask permission from the copyright holder. The contact details of the copyright holders can be found here.

Photo credit: � UNDP