The Gundo-So program is an intervention that aims to empower Malian women living with HIV (WLHIV) through supporting them in their decision-making process to disclose their serological status or not. As part of the French study ANRS 12373 Gundo SO, different quantitative and qualitative data were collected. In order to understand the effects of participating in the study, qualitative data for WLHIV were collected about their personal and social history with HIV, and their social representation of the illness. Semi-structured interviews, performed by French-speaking researchers, were used for the qualitative dimension. A Bambara interpreter was present during interviews to enable participants to adequately express themselves as many women did not speak French fluently. During the interviews, we observed the interpreter’s work. First, she played a role in the meaning she communicated to the researchers of participants’ discourses. Specifically, she omitted or summarised some information depending on what she felt was important or not to communicate. However, she also proved to be a source of new information. In particular, she enhanced some participant responses with explanations about Malian cultural traditions, and changed some words to improve comprehension. During interviews, Interpreters played a key role in the comprehension and interpretation of patients’ discourses. They are necessary in some contexts but they may be perceived as bringing bias to scientific studies. However, they are also an advantage, as they bring greater cultural awareness and therefore greater understanding of the different issues at stake on the ground.