Incorporating soy foods in the diets of HIV-Positive patients in Southern Africa - the WISHH program

摘要

The World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH) program of the American Soybean Association seeks to increase the consumption of soy protein by populations in developing countries. The National Soybean Research Laboratory (NSRL) at the Universityof Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has provided leadership in several areas for this project, including providing soy-specific technical expertise and information, participating in the development and implementation of specific projects, enhancing Internet-based tools for information dissemination, providing strategic planning and targeted operational support, assisting with policy work on macronutrient fortification, assisting private voluntary organizations (PVOs) in conducting cost-benefit analysis, and recipe development. In southern Africa, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is recognized as a serious problem, both in terms of health and economics. Globally, about 16,000 new cases are diagnosed each day. With the exception of those few people receiving retroviral therapy, the disease is fatal. It occurs most commonly in adults in their 20s and 30s and, in addition to death of the affected person, results in the removal of the breadwinner and/or the mother. Therefore it is not uncommon for families who have a family member with AIDS to suffer great economic hardship and to have many orphans.