Mosese Raqio 
[Photo: FILE]
Fiji Network Plus is concerned about a video circulating on social media claiming that a person has been cured of HIV through herbal treatment.
The alleged video further claims that a medical professional confirmed this.
FJN+ is Fiji’s national network of people living with HIV, providing peer support, advocacy and a community voice for people living with HIV across the country.
The organisation stresses that there is currently no scientifically proven herbal, traditional, dietary, or spiritual cure for HIV.
It adds that at a time when Fiji is responding to a national HIV emergency, misinformation about HIV treatment can have serious consequences.
FJN+ highlights that such claims can create false hope, cause confusion and, most importantly, lead people with HIV to stop or interrupt treatment that is keeping them healthy.
Antiretroviral treatment, or ART, is the proven and effective treatment for HIV.
When taken correctly and consistently, ART suppresses HIV, protects the immune system, and enables people living with HIV to live long, healthy and productive lives.
FJN+ also states that a person living with HIV who takes ART and maintains an undetectable viral load does not sexually transmit HIV.
FJN+ says it recognises and respects the important place that traditional and herbal practices have in many of our communities.
However, it stresses that no herbal or traditional remedy should be used as a replacement for ART.
It says that people with HIV who choose to use herbal or traditional remedies should continue taking their ART and should tell their healthcare provider what they are using.
