Nutrition and peer support for HIV+ patients

On each Friday of the month, our Nutrition and Peer Support Program hosts members of the Bamako community for a shared meal. The goal of this meal is to provide guests with a safe space to enjoy a nutritious, homemade spread, while reducing the stigma associated with HIV. 

The Nutrition and Peer Support Program opens its doors to HIV patients and doctors alike. The program purchases food that is prepared by our patients to feed to their peer group, their children, and their healthcare specialists. 

So many of our patients have been widowed through AIDS related complications, leaving the pressures of parenthood to one sole individual. The average family in Bamako has 3-9 children, so creating a welcoming environment with nutritious and completely free meals not only lessens the burden on the children’s caretaker, but also reduces the stigma around HIV patients. 

Our Nutrition and Peer Support Program would not be able to maintain its same outreach and impact without the support of our incredible donors. With a donation of $10, you would be providing one entire weekly meal for one HIV+ patient. With a donation of $30, you would be providing a weekly meal for one mother and three children- potentially alleviating some of her stress. With a generous donation of $100, you would be providing an entire nutritious weekly meal for 25 HIV+ patients. We are so grateful and thank you for your continuous support of our ongoing programs!

Our Nutrition and Peer Support Program encourages weekly group gatherings with shared meals. Clinic patients will gather and cook a meal to feed their families, doctors and other individuals at our clinic. The primary goal of these weekly meetings is to encourage community togetherness, and reduce the stigma associated with HIV. 

A primary aspect of healthcare that GAIA Vaccine Foundation seeks to address is a patient’s access to doctors and specialists. Our program has been able to establish an HIV clinic at a local community clinic in a suburb of Bamako, which provides increased access to people living in rural areas of Mali. This clinic also provides care and education about HIV for those living with the diagnoses, with the goal of reducing stigma and improving HIV prevention in the village in which the clinic is based. 

Many of our patients that come to our Nutrition program have experienced the loss of loved ones and partners due to HIV. With a potential many mouths to feed, our program seeks to alleviate some stress that comes from this burden. With a donation of $10, you would be providing one weekly meal for one HIV+ patient. With a donation of $30, you would be providing a weekly meal for one mother and three children. With a generous donation of $100, you would be providing a weekly meal for 25 HIV+ patients. We thank you for your continuous support of our ongoing programs!