Aids patients need better diet - CNLS

The need for adequate nutritious food among the HIV/Aids patients has raised more concerns to the global fight against the pandemic, an official has said. Antoine Semukanya, the Deputy Executive Secretary of the National Aids Commission (CNLS) confirmed Monday that the diet for patients remains a major global challenge. Semukanya reaffirmed that no favourable health changes can arise among patients accessing Antiretroviral (ARV) treatment without proper feeding. “That’s why we (CNLS) have included in our programme, income generating activities for them,” he said, adding that the deal focuses on those in great need of food. Semukanya believes a long-term income generating strategy for patients to raise enough food is now needed globally rather than just short-term food supply operations. According to a new report by CAFOD, a UK based NGO working in Kenya, HIV-positive people are living longer on ARV medication but many of them remain poor and hungry. “The long-term sustainability of people on ART and the treatment programmes are threatened by the continuing lack of food and economic independence,” said the report. It also noted that ART had had a significant impact on patients whose expectations had changed to looking for future ways of sustaining themselves and their families. The report also noted that many people had started taking ARVs after periods of illness, during which they had lost their jobs and sold their assets to survive, so returning to a more normal life has proved difficult. The report said several organisations engaged in the fight against Aids which were interviewed during the research, found challenges concerning sustainability. They stressed the need for the patients to become self-reliant for the programme’s own sustainability. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that good nutrition increases the body’s ability to fight infections and may improve effectiveness of drugs during treatment. This will mean that individuals will stay healthy and therefore able to work longer, improving economies and preventing their families from becoming deprived. Ends