The participation of Nutriset in this major public health conference was a unique opportunity to meet experts, policymakers, researchers and members of civil society, to discuss with them about advances and innovations at the crossroads of science, advocacy and human rights. But also to better understand the needs and expectations in terms of care and nutritional support for people living with HIV, especially those most vulnerable.
Aside from the AIDS2018 plenary sessions, the conference had programmed an exhibition area for scientific posters. Among the studies presented, some analyzed practical cases of approaches integrating nutrition and food security into treatment, care and support of people. HIV +, in partnership with institutions such as the World Food Programme or UNICEF.
Several posters dealt with projects implemented in arid and semi-arid areas or in drought-prone regions in East Africa (South Sudan, northeastern Kenya, Karamoja region of Uganda) where food security and the nutritional situation of people living with HIV are alarming. In these contexts, people living with HIV are among those most affected by persistent conflict, displacement, poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition.
These presentations highlighted the opportunities to further improve HIV programs, during droughts or in the context of humanitarian assistance, to better integrate food support tailored to the specific nutritional needs of people living with HIV, particularly those under antiretroviral therapy.
In this context, Nutriset pursues its project aiming at providing health programs with ready-to-use food supplements developed specifically to meet the nutritional needs of people living with HIV in contexts of high vulnerability, such as those presented at AIDS 2018.
References of the exposed posters (not exhaustive):
https://programme.aids2018.org/Abstract/Abstract/8471
https://programme.aids2018.org/Abstract/Abstract/9470
https://programme.aids2018.org/Abstract/Abstract/9738
