Mahama, NDC stopped me from meeting Bill Gates – Joyce Dzidor Mensah

Former AIDS Ambassador, Joyce Dzidor Mensah has said the National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration under John Mahama stopped her from going to deliver a talk on HIV/AIDS in Tokyo, Japan.

According to her, the former president and his appointees denied her the opportunity of meeting Bill Gates, Principal Founder of Microsoft at the programme where she was billed to deliver a talk on the challenges with people living with HIV in Ghana.

She said, “There was a time the Global Fund sent me invitation from the ministries in Japan to attend a global meeting. In the meeting was Bill gates. I was to address the challenges with people living with HIV in Ghana to Bill Gates to see the way forward.

My visa was given to me at the Japan Embassy in Ghana upon my arrival at the Embassy and my first-class ticket was sent to me by email but Mahama and co stopped me from travelling to Tokyo because they thought I didn’t deserve such an opportunity.”

Ms. Mensah recounted how a former Boss of the AIDS Commission allegedly spewed ‘lies’ against her leading to the cancellation of the trip to meet Bill Gates.

“The AIDS Commission Boss called the Global Fund to say all sort of lies and my trip to meet Bill Gates was cancelled two days to my flight,” she stated.

Joyce Dzidor Mensah, having opened up about her HIV status was made an AIDS ambassador to among others, help deal with the stereotype associated with the disease in Ghana.

Some years down the line though, she made a U-turn about her HIV status claiming she had been lying for the past four years despite educating people on the disease and campaigning against HIV/AIDS stigmatisation in the country.

Ms. Mensah, now 31, has so far had three unsuccessful marriages. Two out of the three have since died.

The former AIDS Ambassador says she is now a bipolar patient living with depression.

“I have suffered a lot of trauma from people and I admit some of the problems were my fault. I’m now battling depression, with bipolar…some people cannot stand half of my story. Some would have run mad on the street.

But I was left with depression and bipolar; a condition that most people don’t understand and they think I’m not a descent woman. I cannot live with this condition anymore because it brings me too much shame,” she stressed.