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In southern Africa, HIV-positive people are forced to eat dung before taking medication
Medical expert of the article
Last reviewed: 30.06.2025
People living with HIV are so poor that they are forced to eat manure before taking ART drugs, aid workers in the small southern African country of Swaziland report.
Doctors believe that AIDS drugs are ineffective if taken on an empty stomach, and patients who cannot afford normal food stuff their stomachs with cow dung mixed with water.
Activists from an organisation fighting for the rights of people living with HIV held a protest in the country's capital, Mbabane.
They called on Swaziland's King Mswati III to allocate funds to fight AIDS in the country.
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