Lobby Group Petitions Gov’t To Provide Food For Persons Living With HIV/AIDS

KIAMBU,Kenya,Dec, 17 – Grace Sufficient International, a Non-Governmental Organization is calling on the government to roll out a food programme to persons living with HIV/AIDS across the country.

According to the organization, the lack of food and a proper diet amongst the most vulnerable in society has been identified as the top reason why many are not taking their medication.

The group’s President Pastor Grace Godfrey said that most patients hail from poor backgrounds and affording a proper meal on a daily basis has become near impossible.

“We appreciate the Government for ensuring efficient provision of HIV drugs to patients across the country. However, it’s still not enough. The patients require a proper and balanced diet in order to cope with the strong medication. We plead with the government to consider initiating a programme of aiding the patients with food rations that will boost their health and enable them maintain their medication,” said Godfrey.

While distributing food to the vulnerable in Kiambu, Kirinyaga and Embu counties, she said that the national government has the much needed resource to sustain such a programme.

It is an idea she says can particularly be adopted by the ministry of health as they strive towards ensuring those infected take their medication.

“These drugs are very strong and if the patients take them without having proper nutrition then their immune system will weaken posing a major peril to their health. This is why we are advocating for provision of adequate food supplies to the patients,” she said.

Mary Nyaga, an official noted that the NGO has been assisting persons living with HIV in the country by offering counseling and guidance services as well as providing them with food rations.

“We only provide them with food provisions once per year due to financial constraints and from the journey we have gone with them so far we can confirm that most of them require support from the Government. They need a balanced diet,” Nyaga said.

Some of the patients who spoke to journalists echoed the NGO’s sentiments saying that the strong anti-retroviral regiments takes a toll on them whenever they miss their meals and called on the government to consider providing them with food supplies.