Community Nutrition Officer, Stacia Whittaker, who serves as Manager of the HIV Food Bank.
There is a view that countries need to achieve the optimal balance between fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and also maintaining essential services, which address other key health needs.
Therefore, recognising the need to balance the nutritional requirements of those living with HIV and AIDS in Barbados, whilst also ensuring that they remain COVID-free, the HIV Food Bank has been going all out to assist those coming to the Bank and those newly referred.
Stacia Whittaker, Manager of the HIV Food Bank, acknowledged the need to focus both on the nutritional needs of clients and to also ensure that clients get the very best care and treatment overall, via the programmes on offer through the Ministry of Health and Wellness, even as the battle against COVID-19 continues.
“Yes, we can see now with COVID and even now with dengue, that you might see a shift in the attention (paid to HIV and AIDS), but we still have to acknowledge that there are still other areas that will still need as much attention. So we don’t want to move away or drop the ball (on those areas of focus),” Whittaker said.
“But in general, the Ministry of Health has been doing a very awesome job in the care support and treatment of HIV over the years and our Ladymeade Reference Unit, our great team of staff, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, myself (along with other) nutritionists, health education officers, social workers, the whole team, we’ve been really working with our clients to help them to stay in treatment, as part of managing their HIV status,” she stated.
“We know even throughout the world now that HIV, because of the attention and the support that it’s been getting, is now deemed as more of a chronic disease, whereby people can live longer, as long as they stay in treatment and do what they have to do. Just like any other disease really, once you take care and do what you have to do, you have a better chance at surviving and living a healthier, manageable life. And therefore, we at the Ministry of Health and Wellness, through our HIV programme, we’re very proud to say that we are able to keep a lot of our clients on and in their treatment,” the nutritionist said.
“So the Food Bank stands as an advocate, really just to continue to keep the awareness about it out there in the forefront and to remind people about staying well, taking care of their sexual health and then also remembering those who are a vulnerable part of our communities. That is really part and parcel of our whole HIV programme and treatment, because we see persons who are not able to get proper nutrition, who may not be able to take their medication as they ought to. So it’s a way to help them to stay on track with the nutrition aspect, which they can pair with their drug therapy,” Whittaker indicated. (RSM)