Good nutrition combats HIV in South Africa
OBI has developed a nutritional feeding program for sustaining both children and adults, many of whom are suffering from HIV or AIDS.
"We wanted to be part of the solution in the fight against AIDS and disease," said Ken Pettit, Operation Blessing's regional director for Africa.
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POSTED: March 29, 2007
By John Patrick
MPUMALANGA, South Africa - A mass effort is underway to help combat the growing HIV epidemic spreading across South Africa – starting with food and education.
"We wanted to be part of the solution in the fight against AIDS and disease," said Ken Pettit, Operation Blessing's regional director for Africa. Pettitt has spent a career helping South Africa's poor, and is now spearheading Operation Blessing's efforts to support people with HIV/ AIDS.
One of the largest efforts underway is a nutritional feeding program OBI began three years ago.
"A microbiologist was employed to look into the situation of providing HIV/ AIDS sufferers with a nutritional diet," Pettitt said. "We came up with a good menu for kids ages three to 10, as well as adults."
That menu includes a Probiotic ingredient to help boost the immune system, the most crucial defense for surviving the HIV virus.
"People don't die from HIV," Pettitt said. "They die from opportunistic diseases because the immune system is depressed."
In addition to the 38,000 meals OBI serves each month, home-based care is provided to assist the poorest families.
In Bushbuckridge in the Mpumalanga province, OBI partners make 3,200 home visits a month. With each of those visits comes food, supplies, and that which is most important for a community suffering under the AIDS virus: education.
"We counsel them on abstinence," Pettitt said. "We need to address the situation and we can do that through education. It will bring enforcement to the nutritional feeding program that is already addressing much of the AIDS problem in that area."
Pettitt hopes once people are educated about their health, they will be able to walk through difficult life decisions unscathed by the virus.
Future plans for the home-based care project include voluntary HIV testing, and if necessary, connecting people to the government initiatives providing medical care to patients.
"Since there's no cure, [HIV/AIDS] is like a death sentence," Pettitt said. "Through the right nutrition and lifestyle, things can be a lot better."
How You Can Help
With your financial partnership, we can provide food for those caught in the grip of hunger, famine and sickness. Take part in Operation Blessing's life-changing works by making an online contribution today.
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