“I had to request the test myself, and I went through weeks where the testing center would say the test hadn’t worked or would lose my results. Finally, I physically barged into the lab to get them. That’s how I found out I was HIV positive.”

Unable to find support in Turkey, Ozla turned to European networks, and was selected for a year-long training program run by the European AIDS Treatment Group. “Everything that I knew about HIV, I'd learned from movies and shows from the ’80s and ’90s. I didn't know what it meant to be diagnosed with HIV in 2016,” he says. “I healed from the trauma of getting diagnosed by getting involved and doing advocacy.”

To escape the stigma he faced in Istanbul, Ozla moved to Germany. Now based in Zurich, Switzerland, he is studying for his second master’s in anthropology, with the goal of obtaining a PhD in medical anthropology, and working for Y+ Global, an organization that empowers young people living with HIV. The experience of being a migrant, of moving from country to country, is at the heart of his campaigning for better treatment for people living with the virus.

“Each country has its own epidemic.”

“Depending on its policies and social structure, different communities can be affected and be neglected when it comes to health care and prevention. As a gay man living with HIV and as a migrant, I found myself at the intersection of several of these identities, and I experienced how socioeconomic issues could push someone to the margins of a society.”

That marginalization can often increase someone’s risk of acquiring HIV or make it harder for them to get tested or start or continue treatment.

“In Germany, my doctor had to advocate for me and basically fight with the insurance authorities to get my treatment covered. After a few weeks of back and forth, they agreed to cover my medication. But they did not agree to cover my blood tests. I didn't know if I was still undetectable, or if there were any other health complications in my body that could jeopardize my well-being. And it was simply because they weren't sure if the Turkish authorities, they said, were going to reimburse the German government for those treatments.”

For Ozla, the situation didn’t make sense: “If I have something, I may pass it on to another German person. Or if my health gets worse, then it's still going to be a burden on this health care system in your country because I now live here.”

That’s why, he argues, EU governments and health care providers need to focus on the societal enablers of HIV and do more to reach people who, right now, are for whatever reason not accessing prevention, testing and treatment.

“Some countries in the EU are on track to reach 95-95-95 goals to eliminate HIV in the general population. But when we look into the situation for specific key populations, that is usually not the case,” he says.

“It’s time now for leaders to step up and commit to policies that reflect the needs and realities of all of us affected by HIV. When we look at the investment going into HIV care, prevention and treatment, it's not equitable, it's not the same for everyone. People are being left behind and that is not fair.”