Project Report
| Sep 10, 2021
The Importance of Nutrition in HIV+ Patients
By Grace DeCost | GAIA VF Volunteer
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Nutrition is an incredibly important topic for individuals living with HIV. The medications and the disease itself cause changes to the bodies of those living with HIV and maintaining a healthy and balanced diet helps to offset these side effects. Examples of nutrition that are important for individuals living with HIV include diets high in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes while avoiding food high in sugar and fat.
As HIV continues to spread in Mali it is crucially important that those who are diagnosed have access to the foods necessary to maintain this diet. The Nutrition and Peer Support Program for HIV+ Patients through GAIAA provides individuals meal stability and a strong community that focuses on support and community. In July 2021, the Nutrition and Peer Support Program provided 275 meals at Hope Center Clinic. 140 of these meals were given to children.
Just donating $10 today can provide a meal to an HIV+ patient who may not have had access before. Thank you for your contribution!
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Aug 3, 2021
Empowerment Through Food and Community
By Lucy Tian | GAIA VF Intern
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Mali is a country with a vast variety of cultures, and the richness of diversity shines through in the cuisine. As a majority Muslim country, alcohol consumption is rare, and Malians usually enjoy juices from plants and fruits. Notably, jinjibre is a popular lemon, ginger, and sugar drink. Strong, sweet teas are also a popular dessert. There are beautiful traditions and symbols behind tea drinking in Mali, most of which are centered around life and love and are meant to be shared in community. Many HIV+ patients are ostracized by their communities because of stigmatization of HIV. As such, they often lose a portion of community connection and opportunities to celebrate their food customs. The Nutrition Support for HIV+ Patients program provides a space for HIV+ patients and their families to cook, gather, and eat with a community. Cultural empowerment and destigmatizating HIV are core values of the Nutrition Support Program - donate today to further the work and mission!
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Jul 12, 2021
The Problem With Changing Powers on Food Stability
By Katia Ryan | GAIA VF Intern
COVID-19 has taken a toll on many aspects of daily life, but food accessibility is considered one of the domains most affected. This is due to COVID-19 changing people's job stability making it harder to afford food like before as well as disrupting supply chains. More importantly nutrition is a key component in maintaining a healthy immune system. University of Massachusetts speaks to the advantages of maintaining a healthy microbiome in times of COVID-19, and how this is dependent on a nutritious diet. Unfortunately in Africa alone, nearly 20% of the population experiences hunger. In Mali around 18% of the population has encountered food insecurity.
Due to governmental instability this already unfortunate statistic has the potential to increase due to basic needs not being met by the changing powers. GAIA Vaccine Foundation is campaigning for the support of our Nutrition Program to supply consistent meals to those who need it most. For 30 dollars, your support gives a mother and three children the stability of a weekly meal. In Mali, malnutrition is the second leading cause of death for children under 5. With your dedication to supporting GAIA VF we can fight this sad reality.
Many of those served by this Nutrition Program are dealing with other complications such as testing positive or losing a loved one to HIV. If our help lessens the burden for them in any way then we will continue to provide this support.
Thank you for reading and joining us in this work!
Stay tuned for more updates to come.
GAIA Vaccine Foundation.
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