Kenya is one of the Third World countries where people with HIV/AIDS were stigmatised. Today, this is no longer the case especially with the latest discovery that herbal drugs are as good as conventional medicines in combating HIV/AIDS. In Kenya, herbal medicine is widely being used to contain various diseases. Herbal medicines are one type of dietary supplement. They are sold as tablets, capsules, powders, teas, extracts and fresh or dried plants. One of the developments that are proving popular in combating HIV/AIDS in Kenya is a herbal concoction developed by a Chinese researcher, Prof Tian Shengxun. This herbal treatment is also used by persons who are affected by vulnerable diseases like tuberculosis among others. For a long time in Kenya herbal medicines were not approved by the Government since most of the herbalists were quacks. The story changed some years ago when the Kenya Government regularised the professional administration of herbal treatment. Many hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and doctors are now recording high demands for herbal medicine. It is no wonder that at the Port of Mombasa tonnes of herbal drugs are offloaded daily mostly from Asian where herbal treatment was formalised many decades ago. Western countries have also embraced herbal medicines. Kenya National AIDS Spending Assessment (KNASA) data released in November 2015 showed that Kenya has an average HIV/AIDS prevalence rate of 6% with about 1.6 million people living with HIV/AIDS. The data also showed that Kenya spends more than Ksh57 billion on HIV/AIDS annually which adversely affects Kenya’s economy. Prof Shengxun, who is behind the invention of the Tian Immunity Booster (TIB), is delivering a new approach to make both the drug and new HIV medicines effective. The professor says TIB is cheaper compared to conventional antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. Prof Shengxun said this in an interview at TIB Centre a Clinic for Modern Chinese Medicine, Hurlingham Medicare Plaza, Nairobi, in November 2015. He said the TIB therapy is the first oral fusion inhibitor drug in the world so far. Prof Shengxun said the TIB therapy has multiple and powerful anti-viral and anti-bacterial functions extracted from 100% herbs. Unlike conventional ARVs, TIB Products are a fusion inhibitor to replicate the life circle of the HIV virus. Since TIB therapy has multiple functions it can handle most of opportunistic infections (OPIs) linked to lower immunity or HIV/AIDS. For example, TIB combined with universal standard anti-TB drugs, majority of HIV-TB co-infection patients’ sputum tests are turned to negative within three month treatment said Prof Shengxun. He said the therapy has been clinically used for HIV/AIDS for the past 25 years mainly in Africa and Asia. Its clinical efficacy is very promising. Most patients respond very fast and recover soon after TIB therapy. TIB will be available on European markets soon. The Professor added that scientifically, TIB has been proven through different laboratory tests in UK, Japan, Germany and USA to protect the CD4 cell from being infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. TIB has been registered by Pharmacy and Poisons Board of the Ministry of Health in Kenya as legal products in the market. (By Virginia Njoroge)
By Strive Masiyiwa A few weeks ago I went to the doctor. I will tell you what he said about my health at the end, but first read this: Twenty years ago, I arranged to meet a well-known British international businessman who invested a lot in Africa at the time. We agreed to meet for dinner at a leading hotel in London. After a good meeting, we started to walk out of the restaurant when he suddenly collapsed in the lobby. There was total pandemonium as they rushed to get medical assistance. Being London, an ambulance arrived in minutes. I jumped in the back with him as paramedics wrestled to keep him alive. He had had a heart attack and had to have triple bypass heart surgery. Sadly he died a few weeks later. He hadn't been sick and his sudden death surprised everyone. And yet as I reflected on it, and later discussed it with a doctor friend who knew him, I realized he was very laid back about his health despite having a hectic business life. Even during our dinner...
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