HIV/AIDS and Nutrition


Nutrition is a key component in the treatment of HIV/AIDS. Like some other medications, the anti-retroviral drugs used to treat HIV/AIDS do not work effectively unless taken with food. The side effects of these powerful drugs can be so severe that patients with empty stomachs often will simply stop taking them.

In the developing world, food can make all the difference for HIV/AIDS patients. With food, their bodies can tolerate the drugs necessary to treat the illness. This allows them to get back on their feet, return to work and support their families. It also allows the children of HIV/AIDS patients to go back to school, since they no longer need to care for their parents at home.

Families who have been affected by the virus often cite food as their greatest need. That is why WFP distributes food to both HIV/AIDS patients and their families. In 2007, WFP provided assistance to 1.3 million people affected by HIV/AIDS. Friends of WFP provides critical support for WFP to ensure that good nutrition is an integral part of every care package delivered to a person living with HIV/AIDS.

WFP Resources

Links
Fight Against HIV/AIDS
Slowing Down the Impact of AIDS With Food Aid

Downloads
WFP Annual Report, 2009 [PDF] 
The First Line of Defence, 2003 [PDF]
HIV/AIDS & children, 2003 [PDF]

Friends of WFP Fact Sheets

HIV/AIDS and Nutrition: AMPATH [PDF]
Sidebar: Learn about the Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare.

HIV/AIDS and Nutrition: PEPFAR [PDF]
Sidebar: The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief requires nutritional support.

HIV/AIDS and Nutrition: Story From the Field [PDF]
Sidebar: WFP brings hope for a woman in Uganda.

Tsegaye, Ethiopia

Tsegaye, Ethiopia
When Tsegaye was a boy, his mother died. He eventually entered military service and was injured and hospitalized for six months. Afterward, he wanted a new life. He moved to Addis Ababa, but poverty struck. Living on the street, he admits, “My only relief was to sleep with sex workers.” He became HIV-positive. But in 2003, a hospital referred him for home-based care and WFP food support. “As a result of receiving nutritional support, I have been transformed from death to life,” Tsegaye said.

PEPFAR

Since its creation in 2003, the President’s Plan for Emergency AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has made enormous strides in bringing anti-retroviral drugs to HIV/AIDS patients in developing countries. Friends of WFP advocates increased nutrition assistance for the world’s poorest individuals suffering from HIV/AIDS.

Fast Fact

WFP supports HIV/AIDS treatment programs in at least 16 African nations, reaching more than 330,000 people. The agency also provides interventions in 50 countries and food assistance in 20 of the 25 nations with the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS.


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