EPISODE 2 - Nutrition and HIV

Lady Frere in the Eastern Cape is extremely remote. Yet in the village of Mtsheko, people with HIV are taking ARV treatment and living better thanks to a communal food garden driven by Zongamele Dumezweni – a local farmer.  People on ARVs sometimes stop taking medication because getting well may threaten their access to a disability grant. They would rather be sick with AIDS and have money to buy something to eat than be well and penniless. Decent jobs are not coming to Mtsheko anytime soon. And of course you can’t take medicines and recover if you don’t have enough to eat. The food garden is a strong solution to this challenge, and Zongamele and his crew are making a success of it. They are able to supply some patients at the nearby hospital with fresh vegetables, sell to others in their community and bring income into their group. There example needs to be repeated all over the country and government needs to find a way to assist.

food gardens

Not getting enough of the right kinds of food to eat can seriously stunt the growth of children. A lack of nutrition during childhood causes illness and prevents people from realizing their potential. Too many people are restricted by poverty by eating maize meal with whatever else they can afford. Maize meal makes one feel full, but is not a complete food on its own. A child brought up mostly on thin maize meal will not perform as well at school as a child with a more varied diet.

Mothibedi Masinga is a bright 10 year old living openly with HIV in Mamelodi outside Pretoria. He takes his ARVs at 7 each morning and evening. But ARVs on their own are not enough. No learner can perform when he or she is hungry. Sometimes Mothibedi only has a single slice of bread before going to school. But at school each morning he and other learners get e'Pap porridge fortified with vitamins and minerals with milk. The porridge is made by local volunteers as part of government's feeding scheme. Teacher Bongiwe Ntloko  says: “the government gives us soya, maize meal, rice or samp for lunch.”  1100 children are receiving food at this Mamelodi primary school.

nutrition programmes in schools

Nutrition is an emotional subject and often a confusing one. For ten years the past Minister of Health bombarded South Africa with her views on the miraculous ability of nutrition to reverse the course of AIDS. She sent people claiming to be expert nutritionists to help people like Fana ‘Khabzela’ Khaba, the popular YFM DJ who subsequently died of AIDS. In the process she caused a lot of confusion.

At Gingindlovu Clinic in in Emvutshini, Hlengiwe Cele attends an antenatal session where Nana Ngwenya goes through the  basics of good nutrition. Good nutrition is all about combining different foods. Every day one should try to have something that builds muscle – such as meat, dairy, and beans like soya, lentils and chick peas. Then a starchy food like bread, maize meal, samp, rice or potatoes which give energy and finally some vegetables or fruit because this is what builds the immune system. For people living with HIV, quantity is as important as quality. We all get tired when we have a virus – because the virus takes a lot of energy from the body. HIV is no exception, so nutrition is important, but good nutrition alone won’t reverse the course of AIDS. For this one needs ARVs. People should not have to choose between ARVs and food.  We have a right to both.

nutrition in pregnancy

IT'S A FACT