HIV/AIDS and Malnutrition: A Vicious Cycle
Much has been accomplished in recent years to make anti-retroviral therapy (ART) available at a reasonable cost to counter Africa’s HIV/AIDS pandemic. However, ART lacks effectiveness when a patient is malnourished. HIV/AIDS and malnutrition form a vicious cycle. Individuals with HIV fail to absorb nutrients properly due to metabolism problems.
Energy requirements for people living with HIV/AIDS are increased by 10% for asymptomatic patients, 20-30% for symptomatic patients, and 50-100% for children with weight loss. Moreover, malnourished individuals' immune systems are often compromised, increasing their susceptibility to HIV infection.
Current HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment initiatives and nutritional support programs typically exist as separate entities. In order to successfully tackle the HIV/AIDS crisis, malnutrition and HIV/AIDS must be addressed simultaneously.
GHI's integrated approach achieves this end:
