Nutrition for HIV patients gets major boost

 

By Kemo Cham

[First published on www.politicosl.com] A WFP project that provides crucial nutrition for AIDS and Tuberculosis patients in Sierra Leone has received a major boost which will enable it expand the number of beneficiaries.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria has provided US$3.1 million to the programme which will see the UN food agency scales up its nutritional support for over 20,000 Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) and tuberculosis (TB) patients, according to a statement received by Politico.

Last year, the programme supported about 5, 900 ART patients, the statement from WFP said.

People living with HIV are known to have weakened immune systems. And experts say adequate nutrition is essential for effective treatment for any illness, particularly so for these kinds of patients.

Out of an estimated 54, 000 people known to be living with HIV in Sierra Leone, only 14, 000 are said to be on ART.

WFP, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health & Sanitation, is providing the nutrition support to ART clients & TB patients through community health centres across the country. With this Global Fund support, the agency will be able to purchase staple foods, including rice, pulses and fortified vegetable oil, it said, adding that a food basket containing these items would be provided to undernourished ART/TB patients and their families.

Additional fortified blended food like Super Cereal, a highly nutritious corn-soya blend, is also part of the package for ART and TB patients for the treatment of moderate acute malnutrition.

Peter Scott-Bowden, WFP Representative in Sierra Leone, said in the statement that the partnership with the government enhanced service delivery to undernourished ART and TB patients, and ensured that they adhere to treatment.

“With the support of the Government and the Global Fund, WFP’s food assistance will help maintain effective treatment for people living with HIV and TB in Sierra Leone,” he said.

“Treatment, counselling, food and supplement deserve equal status in our priority setting in combating HIV & AIDS,” added Dr. Momodu Sesay, Director of the National AIDS Secretariat.

WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food in emergencies and working with communities to build resilience.

The agency says it assists some 80 million people in around 80 countries annually.