A nutritional scientist at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Dr. Charles Apprey, has observed malnutrition as one of the major problems afflicting persons living with HIV/AIDS.
As the world commemorates AIDS Day, he is calling on the government to implement innovative interventions in the health sector to improve the nutritional status of persons living with the disease.
Nutrition among persons living with HIV/AIDS is essential in their care and management as it has implications for their immune function.
The nutritional status of HIV/AIDS patients can improve the immune system and reduce the risk of opportunistic infections, delay viral progression and improve antiretroviral absorption or tolerance.
A nutritional status research was conducted amongst HIV positive clients accessing High Active Anti-retroviral Therapy (HAART) at a public hospital in Ghana.
The research revealed there’s a high prevalence of malnutrition among HIV/AIDS patients.
“I think the biggest trigger is the fact that if you look at the national prevalence of HIV-AIDS, you realize Koforidua is almost leading in terms of the prevalence.
And that means, there’s a high level of people or a high number of people in the region living with HIV
So, we decided to look at the nutritional status of HIV/AIDs patients, because usually there’s a triangle between good health, immune system, and your nutrition level,” he said.
The prevalence of malnutrition amongst HIV/AIDS patients militates against the progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal targets 3.3 and 3.4 of stopping AIDS epidemic and preventing premature deaths from malnutrition.
Dr. Yasmine Hardy, an infectious disease physician at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), reveals the cause of malnutrition amongst HIV/AIDS patients.
“Quite a number of patients or people who have HIV have malnutrition, especially those who come in to start medications initiallyand they come in the advanced stage of HIV
By advanced stage, I mean that the HIV virus,has increased making it difficult for their bodies to fight against infection, “she added.
Dr. Charles Apprey wants clinicians to add dieticians to their health teams to help HIV/AIDS patients to choose their foods.
“Once you have HIV, it means that your immune system is already compromised, so I encourage clinicians to add dietitians and nutritionists to their team so that they’re also able to help them to choose their food and their diets wisely.
But if you’re able to choose your food well, what it means is that you’re always going
to have the immune system working optimally,” he advised.
The Ashanti region is one of the regions with the highest rate of HIV cases at 1.6%.
Although stakeholders are committed to reducing the transmission of the disease and improving the health of patients, Dr. Yasmine Hardy is worried about the unwillingness of HIV/AIDS patients to receive medication.
“Sometimes patients don’t come for medication, especially when their quality of life has improved and that’s a major worry to me as a physician” she bemoaned.
Patients have been advised to continue treatment after they have been tested and treated for HIV/AIDS.
An estimated 1.3 million individuals worldwide acquired HIV in 2022, marking a 38% decline in new HIV infections since 2010 and 59% since the peak in 1995.
While there have been significant improvements in recent years, there remains a need for continued efforts to combat HIV/AIDS effectively
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