Although COVID-19 may have overtaken everything in our lives and put other conditions and illnesses in the background, people living with HIV are encouraged to continue their treatment.
Why is treatment important?
Treatment reduces the amount of HIV or viral load in the blood. It can make the HIV so low that an HIV test can’t detect it. This means that the treatment is working.
By skipping medications, even now and then, you are giving HIV the chance to increase in the blood and this may weaken the immune system, and you could become sick and even die.
SAMWUMED HIV Programme
We have a comprehensive HIV Programme whose benefits include access to:
- Medicines to treat HIV, including drugs to prevent mother-to child transmission
- Treatment to prevent common infections because of HIV, i.e. For example, pneumonia and TB
- Regular monitoring of the disease and response to therapy
- Regular tests to pick up possible side- effects of the treatment
- Ongoing patient support via a Nurse-Line service which allows a patient to call a nurse whenever they need to
- Clinical guidelines and telephonic support for doctors
- Help in finding a registered counsellor for emotional support
To activate this benefit, members must register on the programme using the following details:
- 0860 100 646 or 083 410 9078
- Fax: 0800 600 773
- Email: afa@afadm.co.za
