From vice · VICE Staff · · 1m 10s
Yana Panfilova's HIV Journey
Yana Panfilova, a Ukrainian teen with HIV, founded a youth-led movement to end stigma and improve HIV care across Eastern Europe.
In brief
Yana Panfilova, a Ukrainian teen with HIV, founded a youth-led movement to end stigma and improve HIV care across Eastern Europe. Yana Panfilova, 14, publicly disclosed her HIV status and founded Teenergizer to empower young people affected by HIV. Originally reported by vice.
HIV Diagnosis at 10
Yana Panfilova was 10 years old when her mother told her she had HIV.
“I didn’t know anything about HIV, only that Freddie Mercury died of AIDS”
Stigma from Family
Her grandmother told her not to tell anyone because people would hate her.
“Don’t tell anybody because everybody will hate you”
School Discrimination
She saw a classmate living with HIV face beatings and expulsion threats.
“She was so angry and upset. She was biased because in our schools, nobody provided the right information about HIV and AIDS”
Public Disclosure at 14
Panfilova publicly disclosed her HIV status at her first press conference in Moldova when she was 14.
Teenergizer Founded
In 2015, Panfilova established Teenergizer, a youth-led HIV awareness organization.
156,000 Reach
Teenergizer reached 156,000 young people through online psychological counseling.
UN Address
In 2021, Panfilova spoke at the UN for 38 million people living with HIV.
Legal Studies
Panfilova is studying Global Law at Tilburg University in the Netherlands.
What matters most
Yana Panfilova, 14, publicly disclosed her HIV status and founded Teenergizer to empower young people affected by HIV.
