To support children orphaned by AIDS and those living with HIV/AIDS themselves, World Food Progam provides food and nutrition to 2.3 million people across Africa. Those on anti-retroviral treatment are particularly in need of a nutritious diet to ensure that their drug therapy is as effective as possible.
Prisca Siza’s positive test for HIV came to her like a death sentence passed down by a particularly cruel judge
“I was very, very scared when I was first diagnosed,” she says. “I thought I would just die straight away.”
The thirty-seven-year-old widow (her husband died of and AIDS-related illness over ten years ago) and mother to three children, two of whom are not her own, had good reason to be fearful. Soon, as the illness crept into her, she weakened to the point where it was painful and exhausting to do even the most basic household tasks.
But then she enrolled at a center in Tageta, about fifteen kilometers north of the Tanzanian capital Dar es Salaam, where the Roman Catholic Archdiocese and WFP are working together to ensure orphans and people on anti-retroviral treatment for HIV have at least the decent diet necessary for their treatment to have a chance of success.
“After five months I am feeling much better,” she says. “Before, I couldn’t even carry a bucket. Now I am growing a small amount of maize, cassava, and other crops around my home—before, it was impossible for me even to think of going to work in the fields.”
“The food part of our program is vital because when people are taking their medicine, in order for it to be effective, they need to be eating well,” says Dr Pauline Archard, the coordinator of the HIV/AIDS program for one of WFP’s partners in Tanzania, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dar es Salaam. “It helps them remain strong and to continue with their treatment.”
Major Improvements
Dealing with the stigma associated with her HIV status is sometimes tricky. But for Prisca, things have improved to the point where some of her neighbors are wondering how she has managed to make such a major improvement in her health.
“Initially, some people did try to ostracize me but I realized that I had to just get used to it—there was nothing I could do about them. Now I speak openly to everyone. People generally accept me—some are even saying that I am not HIV-positive because they have seen me became so healthy again!”
The best news of all came recently when her one natural son was tested for HIV and returned a negative sample.
“My life is full of hope,” Prisca says with a soft smile.
