Can Abstaining from Alcohol Help to Fight the Spread of HIV?
Studies have shown that alcohol may play a role in more that 13% of deaths resulting from infectious diseases, including HIV.
Evidence suggests that alcohol consumption negatively affects the fight against HIV primarily by:
- Increasing the likelihood of transmission through risky sex
- Making those infected less likely to take their medicine regularly
In response, researchers at Brown University have piloted a cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) programme to promote alcohol abstinence among those infected with HIV in an area of Kenya.
The treatment can be delivered successfully by “paraprofessionals … independently rated to be as competent as college-educated U.S. therapists when delivering a standardized CBT intervention to reduce alcohol use”.
There are arguments that up-scaling the programme nationwide, and eventually across the continent, could save money by helping to combat the spread of costly infections.