By Dr. Pasquine Ogunsanya | Executive Director and Founder
Without access to proper nutrition, HIV/AIDS care is incomplete and ineffective. Complete nutrition allows proper function of the body, and strengthens the immune system to regulate disease. Water forms the foundation ofproper nutrition, as this is the medium in which all bodily processes occur. This is the reason we at Alive Medical Services (AMS) say “water is life!” a message that we are echoing across the world on this March 22nd, World Water Day.
As part of AMS’s holistic HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment to our tens of thousands of clients, we have committed to providing clients with clean and safe drinking water. Clean water is essential to HIV/AIDS care for proper medication adherence, absorption of nutrients and medication, maintenance of hydration and strength, and prevention of water-borne opportunistic infections such as typhoid and diarrhea. To provide this essential component of our Nutrition Support Program, Proctor & Gamble (P&G) generously donates free water purification packets to our clients. These packets are easy-to-use, compact, and powerful tools that purify water and greatly impact clients’ health, and in 2016 alone, these packets reached 7,720 beneficiaries! We are grateful for P&G for their life-saving support, and for donors like you who allow us to continue providing holistic care to clients.
Alex is one of AMS’s pioneer clients, who for the last five years has been making 42-mile journeys to AMS for HIV treatment and to pick up P&G packets for his 15 family members who benefit from them. Prior to treating his water, access to clean water for his family was scarce. However, since using P&G packets, he has saved money by not having to purchase firewood to boil water, and incidents of his children getting burnt from the boiled water has reduced. Importantly, cases of diarrhea in his family has also declined.
When he started treating his water at home, his neighbors became curious and came over to watch him purify water. As interest in his water increased, Alex began to collect additional P&G packets for his neighbors during his visits to AMS. Alex is a safe drinking water advocate and actively assists AMS in giving P&G packet use demonstrations and health talks during his AMS visits. When asked why he chooses to spread the word, Alex replies “Water is life. I love people and I want them to be healthy and I want everyone to benefit from this clean water.”
On this March 22nd, we celebrate World Water Day with Alex and other such clients whose lives have changed for the better due to access to safe drinking water and proper nutrition. As we exceed 10 years of service this year, AMS hopes to team with you to impact many more lives in the next decade and more to come. Thank you for your continued support in safeguarding our clients’ health!
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By Dr. Pasquine Ogunsanya | Executive Director and Founder
By Dr. Pasquine N. Ogunsanya | Executive Director and Founder
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