Title:Turning ‘challenges into opportunities for dignity and justice’

Martha Cameron (G’25, ’30) advocates for HIV/AIDS awareness and access to pre-exposure and antiretroviral therapies, with a specific focus on Zambia. She’s also a woman living with HIV herself.

Cameron’s interest in HIV/AIDS was piqued after watching her generation lose their parents and other family members to the disease at the peak of the HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa.

“I had no understanding of public health, of health disparities, of poverty,” says Cameron.

Grounded in her Catholicism, Cameron began working to support HIV/AIDS patients in Zambia. Her dedication intensified with her AIDS, HIV’s final stage, diagnosis in 2003.

Cameron was one of the first recipients of antiretroviral therapy (ART) through PEPFAR, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. She continued working in HIV/ AIDS prevention in recovery, moved to Virginia with her husband, earned a Master of Public Health from Walden University, and had two sons, both of whom were born HIV-negative thanks to ART.

“I was very public with my HIV diagnosis,” says Cameron. “Many people who see me and my children now sometimes don’t even believe they’re mine.”

A desire to advance medicine and help families like hers led Cameron to Georgetown University’s School of Health to work on the Study of Treatment and Reproductive Outcomes in Women (STAR) team and pursue a master’s degree in global infectious disease.

“We generated evidence on maternal and child health among women with HIV that informs policy and practice,” says Cameron.

Cameron is now pursuing a Ph.D. in global infectious disease with her advisor, Babatunji Oni, a senior program director of Georgetown’s Center for Global Health Practice and Impact. His expertise in building health infrastructure challenges Cameron to expand her perspective.

“I have witnessed firsthand Martha’s intellectual curiosity, striking insightfulness, and most of all, her genuine passion for the welfare of those most affected by infectious disease around the world–especially due to inequity or lack of access to care,” says Oni. “I am very much honored to be her mentor and look forward to continuing this journey with her.”

Cameron hopes to research effective strategies to maximize HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment infrastructure in Africa, particularly at home in Zambia.

“My family and the resilience, courage, and faith of women living with HIV inspire me,” says Cameron. “Beyond seeking access to treatment, many navigate complex reproductive choices. I am driven by the belief that science, applied with equity, can turn these challenges into opportunities for dignity and justice.”