HIV+ woman survives on herbs (updated)

Paidamoyo Chipunza recently in Manicaland

The Diocese of Mutare Community Care Programme (DOMCCP) has called on research and investment into local herbal treatment amid revelations that a 51-year-old HIV positive woman from Nyanga is surviving only on natural herbs to suppress the viral load in her system for the past 15 years.In an interview with The Herald, Mrs Jestina Satambara said she was first diagnosed of HIV in 1996 when she was carrying her third child’s pregnancy.

She said then, there were no drugs for preventing transmission of HIV to her unborn baby nor anti-retroviral drugs.She proceeded to give birth to her child without any medical intervention.

“Since 1996, I was always bedridden together with my son. I was very sick and just waited to die. My son had persistent diarrhoea while I had a consistent cough and repeated sexually transmitted infections,” said Mrs Satambara.

She said her son was tested HIV negative six months later.

“No one wanted to get close to us or even pay us a visit fearing that what I was suffering from was highly contagious. I spent most of my time sleeping under cover even during summer,” she said.

Unwell as she was, Mrs Satambara said in 2000 the Nyamahumba community under Chief Saunyama where she lived, selected her to go for a permaculture training in Mt Hampden.

“Initially I refused because of my condition but later took up the challenge and went for the training,” she said.

She said after the training and several others that followed she started taking the natural herbs accompanied with traditional foods such as Rapoko porridge (Rukweza). Some of the herbs that she took and is still taking included sweet worm hood, lemon grass, mint and stinging nettol.

“Before taking the herbs, I was too thin, frail and wasted but I started regaining weight and strength when I started the herbal treatments,” she said.She said in 2005, she lost her husband but only knew that he was also HIV positive after his death. She said in 2013, she had serious ringworms throughout her body.

“I went to clinic requesting that they put me on ARVs but they refused saying my CD4 Count was still high,” she said. Around 2013 Government was only giving ARVs to people whose CD4 Count was below 200 in line with World Health Organisation’s guidelines on management of HIV. Mrs Satambara said her CD4 Count (edited) now stands at 1 350 and health workers cannot detect HIV in her blood anymore.

“I go for HIV tests three times a year but still test negative,” she said.She said there was also another woman in her area who tested HIV positive in 2006 and could not be placed on ART because of her CD4 Count which was still high. Mrs Satambara said she assisted the woman with the herbs she was taking and now health workers can also not detect the virus in her blood.

Asked about Mrs Satambara’s case, DOMCCP director Dr Joachem Nyamande confirmed that she was indeed tested HIV positive and the community she lived in testified that she was bedridden for sometime.Dr Nyamande said with enough investments and research into local herbs, Zimbabwe could come up with anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) suitable for local people.

“We strongly believe that Zimbabwe is rich in different types of herbs and with enough resources the case of Mrs Satambara could be our starting point to scientifically prove the effectiveness of these herbs in management of HIV and other infections,” said Dr Nyamande.

Dr Nyamande said although they do not encourage people to drop ART or mix them with herbal concoctions, herbal therapy was an area worth research.

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