admin
Dear Dr .
As Nac we do not recommend any man of God for faith healing. HIV currently has no cure and what is recommended is lifelong use of ARVs for treatment of those infected with HIV.
HIV damages the immune system resulting in developing opportunistic infections. ARVs prevent the virus from multiplying in your body, resulting in low levels of the virus.
Viral suppression leads to immune system recovery and thus an individual is able to live a long healthy life. However, stopping ARVs results in the virus replicating in your body, resulting in destruction of the immune system and thus increased risk of developing opportunistic infections and ill health.
During the period that you are not taking medication you give the virus the chance to become resistant to the medication that you were taking and the medication may not work for you again.
There is evidence that those who practice faith healing and stop treatment on advice from faith healers put their lives at risk of falling ill.
We appreciate the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe’s banning of adverts about prophets that claim to have power to cure HIV.
According to the Bible, in 2 Kings 5 the man of God instructed Naaman to go and dip himself seven times in the river Jordan before he could be healed. In John 9, Jesus mixed his saliva with some mud and put it on the blind man’s eyes.
He told him to go and wash his eyes and thereafter, the man could see. These two passages make it clear that even if we have faith, there are things that we need to do physically in order to be healed.
You can still live in faith but continue taking your medication as prescribed by health personnel (adherence).
Dr B Mushangwe
Online Reporter