UNAIDS/UNICEF organize a workshop on nutritional needs for people living with HIV

A workshop organized by UNAIDS and UNICEF in collaboration with the ministry of health of Eritrea was conducted at imperial hotel Asmara on the 17th and 22nd of March 2022. The UNAIDS representative in Eritrea Ms. Therese Poirier opened the workshop. In her opening remark Ms. Poirier expressed her hope that the workshop will help us not only pay more attention to what we consume but also serve as a wakeup call on the importance of using nutrition to promote a well-functioning immune system to maintain our health and  stay disease free.

The workshop cantered on the nutritional needs of people living with HIV and caregivers of people with HIV. Nutritional education can enhance the healthy living of not just people living with HIV but anyone to be able to understand the right way of feeding ourselves and loved ones as well as understanding the nutritional value and benefit of all foods, how we could replace some nutrients that might come from expensive food source from grains that can easily and cheaply be available in the local market.

The workshop’s objectives were therefore to refresh the knowledge and skills of the participants around nutrition, with a participatory approach. It also aimed at improving communication skills of participants to make them best equipped  in counselling others and taking care of  themselves. Over 60 participants took part in the workshop that was organized in two separate seminars over the past week in observance of covid protocols.