Abstract:
Background: HIV / AIDS infected pregnant and lactating women form a special group that has
peculiar characteristics and needs among People living with HIV / AIDS. The physiological
changes that occur during pregnancy and lactation call for additional nutritional needs in order to
maintain the health status of the mother, fetus and the newborn. In HIV / AIDS infected pregnant
and lactating women those additional nutritional needs are further perpetuated by increased
nutritional demand caused by illness. Assuring access to health diets for this special group with
unique characteristics forms a fundamental component in the management of the disease. This
study was conducted to determine access to recommended diets and its associated factors on the
management of HIV / AIDS among infected pregnant and lactating women in Dar es Salaam.
Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was carried out in three municipal hospitals of
Dar es Salaam in April, 2009 to determine access to recommended diets among 201 HIV / AIDS
infected pregnant and lactating women. It also examined the association between access to
recommended diets and nutritional status, (as the dependent variable,) and some socio-
demographic characteristics, economic parameters and dietary intake as explanatory variables.
Study respondents were interviewed using structured interview schedule with closed ended
questions. Nutritional status was assessed anthropometrically using Body Mass Index (BMI) and
reference was made from the WHO cut off points. The quality of food consumed over the past
one month was assessed using a short food frequency questionnaire
Results: Results revealed that access to recommended diet was a problem among HIV positive
pregnant and lactating women whereby only 46.8% ofthe study participants had access to these
diets. A significant proportion of study participants had not received nutritional counseling
(57.2%). Moreover, access to recommended diets was significantly associated with Religion (p=
0.05), level of education (p < 0.001), employment (p=0.014) and household assets (p < 0.001).
Conclusion: Access to recommended diets to HIV infected pregnant and lactating women in Dar
es Salaam is determined by multitude of factors, level of education, occupation, nutrition
counseling, were among factors that were positively associated with food access while food price
and being Muslims were negatively associated with access to recommended diets, and its only
when these factors are addressed then we will witness the impact of good nutrition in the care
and management of HIV among pregnant and lactating women.
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Recommendations: There is a need of strengthening and close monitoring of nutritional
counseling process at VCT and CTC so that all eligible patients receive counseling from
competent counselors, there is a need of strengthening information, education and
communication activities to raise awareness on healthy food choices, nutrition, safe food
handling and the importance of cheep indigenous foods to meet dietary needs. Government
should set price ceiling for those healthy food items which are necessary for the health of its
people and this should be supplemented by establishment of household income boost activities
together with provision of food aids to those affected households that have difficulties in
accessing foods
