Sierra Leone News, Sierra Express Media, for your trusted place in news!
Foreign Exchange
Hotels - Freetown
Mining
Shipping
Freetown Weather
Page added on November 27, 2009
Author: SEM Contributor
FREETOWN – As World AIDS Day approaches, (Dec 1) the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has handed over Nutrition Guidelines for People Living With HIV to Sierra Leone’s National AIDS Secretariat, the first time a document of this kind has been produced in the country.
WFP Country Representative, Christa Räder, said that for people living with HIV, good nutrition is fundamental to effective antiretroviral treatment.
“My message on World Aids Day this year is that treatment, counseling and food supplement deserve equal status in combating HIV and AIDS,” said Ms. Räder. “Now for the first time we have guidelines that are tailor-made for Sierra Leone to help people living with HIV and AIDS understand the importance of good nutrition.” She added that assistance given to families affected by HIV also helps compensate for their loss of income.
The guidelines are specific to Sierra Leone and contain practical recommendations for incorporating the right foods into HIV treatment, based on local resources.
The Deputy Director of Sierra Leone’s National AIDS Secretariat, Abdul Rahman Sesay, supported Ms. Räder’s call for the inclusion of nutrition as an integral component of a comprehensive package for the treatment and care of those living with HIV.  “Without proper nutrition, treatment programmes are less successful,” he said.
He assured WFP that the guidelines would be widely disseminated to health staff, counselors and HIV-affected people themselves.
WFP is currently supporting some 3,000 people living with HIV and AIDS as well as their families in 10 districts. It plans to extend its assistance programme into the Bonthe, Kono and Pujehun districts in 2010.
#Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â #Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â #
WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. In 2009, WFP aims to feed 108 million people in 74 countries.
WFP now provides RSS feeds to help journalists keep up with the latest press releases, videos and photos as they are published on WFP.org. For more details see: http://www.wfp.org/rss
WFP now has a dedicated ISDN line in Italy for quality two-way interviews with WFP officials.
For more information please contact:
Christa Räder, WFP Representative, Sierra Leone, Email:christa.rader@wfp.org    Tel: 076-379695
Stay with Sierra Express Media, for your trusted place in news!
© 2009, Sierra Express Media. All rights reserved.
RELATED STORIES
Search This Site
LATEST NEWS HEADLINES
ALSO IN THE NEWS
Vacancy Notice – Independent Media CommissionAuthor: SEM Contributor
The Independent Media Commission was established by an Act of Parliament in 2000 and amended in 2006 and 2007 as an autonomous body for the regulation of mass media institutions and for other matters connected therewith:- The Commission currently seeks to fill the following vacancy:- ASSISTANT MONITORING, RESEARCH AND PROJECTS OFFICER Objective: To assist the [...]
MORE STORIES
HAVE YOUR SAY
Are things in Sierra Leone better or worse since President Ernest Bai Koroma became President?Our New Website Has a More Efficient Layout
We invite you to give us your feedbackMORE NEWS HEADLINES