Nutrition and peer support for HIV+ patients

Nutrition is a vital aspect of any person’s health, and even more so when one is immunocompromised as a result of HIV. Our Nutrition and Peer Support Program places great emphasis on making sure our patients and community alike receive nutritious meals weekly- not only to maintain physical health, but for the purpose of fortifying communities and reducing the stigma around HIV.

Our program purchases food made by our patients, which is shared amongst themselves, our doctors, children living with HIV, and their peer groups. By providing a safe space where the community can gather over meals, the stigma around HIV is reduced, and individuals facing the burdens of illness or stress of feeding their family can seek refuge. 

Our Nutrition and Peer Support Program would not be possible without your help. 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!

Our Nutrition and Peer Support Program was created to foster a support group among HIV+ patients. Several of the patients cook food together, and enjoy a collaboration of meals that allows them a stress-free and accepting environment that aids in reducing the stigma around HIV. It also allows them to serve their community by serving meals to clinic patients in Sikoro. 

GAIA Vaccine Foundation’s HIV-care clinic is located within a government run community clinic and supports a growing group of impoverished patients who live on the outskirts of Bamako. Our organization provides both care and education for individuals living with HIV, which helps dually in reducing the stigma around the virus, as well as improving HIV prevention in the village. 

By purchasing meals from our patients and sharing it amongst the doctors, families, and peer groups alike, the fear and unknown around HIV dissipates, and bonding within the community is fortified. Proper nutrition is also vital for the health of our HIV+ patients.

None of this would be possible without your continuous support. It is with the help of your generous donations that we move closer to achieving our goals. 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 one weekly meal for a mother and three children. With a generous donation of $100, you would be providing a weekly meal for OVER 25 people! We thank you for your support as we continue on our mission to reduce the incidence of infectious disease that disproportionately affects the underserved.