Sita Banjade Shahi

Sita Banjade Shahi is an activist and woman living with HIV who currently serves as the Regional Coordinator for the International Community of Women Living with HIV Asia Pacific Region which is headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand. Prior to her work for ICW she founded Srijansil Mahila Samuha (SMS), an organization for and by women living with HIV based in the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal.

Sita served as President for 6 years of the SMS Kapilvastu District Branch Office. Sita served as Senior Advisor for Srijansil Mahila Samuha Central Office where she provided advising, mentoring and providing guidance to new women leaders. After 2 years as a Senior Advisor, women living with HIV again nominated her for the position of President from July of 2015.

In 2009, Sita was nominated to serve as Treasurer of National Federation of Women Living with HIV (NFWLHA) and eventually joined the staff. Sita has held many different staff positions at NFWLHA including program manager, fundraising and technical support manager, and eventually rose to the position of Executive Director.

Sita Shahi has worked as a community social worker since 2005. She began her career as a volunteer at Sneha Samaj, a women-led organization focused on treatment and care support for women living with HIV. After which, Sita joined Sahara Plus as a community home-based care (CHBC) facilitator working for women and girls living with HIV.