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Nutrition: Key to HIV Care and Treatment
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The nutritional requirements of people living with HIV are greater than those of healthy individuals. Nutritious foods help those who are on antiretrovirals tolerate and absorb their medication better. And those who have not yet started ART can postpone this treatment by maintaining a good diet. Healthful foods also help the body maintain adequate levels of protein and other micronutrients needed to maintain immune system function. Good nutrition is an essential counterbalance to HIV, which speeds up the body's metabolic rate and depletes protein reserves. Family Health International's public health and development programs address the nutritional needs of people living with HIV/AIDS in several ways. For example, FHI is partnering with local and international entities to provide healthful food and nutritional supplements to adults and children with HIV; training local healthcare providers to evaluate the nutritional needs of people with HIV as part of routine care and treatment; supplying food for entire families affected by HIV, not just the patients themselves; and helping those affected to grow their own vegetables, offering them nourishment, building their self-reliance, and greatly reducing their food costs. Kitchen Gardens Improve HIV Care and Prevention in Rwanda
Addressing Food Insecurity among Patients in Kenya
Life-Saving Services for Malnourished Children in Nigeria
Related Stories from Rwanda, Senegal, and India People Living with HIV/AIDS Plant Gardens, Feed Themselves and their Families, and Generate Income Hope and Resilience: Anusha's Story Related Publications
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The ROADS kitchen gardening program provides resources and training enabling people living with HIV to grow high-yield crops that help improve nutritional status and adherence to ARV drugs.
Many people living with HIV share their nutritional supplementary food with their families and fail to derive adequate benefits themselves. FHI and the World Food Programme are addressing this concern by alleviating food insecurity at the household level. 
The GHAIN program in Nigeria is partnering with the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative to provide severely malnourished HIV-positive children with a lifesaving nutritional supplement called Plumpy'nut, a peanut butter-like paste packed with vitamins and minerals that promotes rapid growth.