Florence Okwara

Prescribed Diets in Hiv Malnourished Children: Effectiveness and Challenges Florence Okwara

The role of good nutrition in mitigating the effects of HIV/AIDS is well documented but little is known about the effectiveness of prescribed diets in malnourished HIV infected children. This book is a result of a study on the effectiveness of Insta Food by Prescription (FBP) and also addresses the challenges encountered in delivering FBP to HIV malnourished children. It highlights fundamental issues that should go along with prescribed diets such as; general sanitation and personal hygiene, training of caregivers, age of caregiver, relationship between the child and caregivers, family planning, medical and child care, food security and stigma among others. The study was carried out at Lea Toto Program, a set of outpatient clinics of Nyumbani Children?s Home, founded by the late Fr. Angelo D?Agostino in 1992. The program mostly serves the slum suburb of Kangemi, Nairobi, Kenya and its adjacent areas. Most patients showed improvement after being put on Insta FBP. For better results, addressing malnutrition in HIV infected children should entail an integrated programme that addresses nutrition as well as socio demographic and economic factors.