Kenya Projects

Homeopathic and complementary medicine as an effective alternative treatment for HIV/AIDS

Barbara Lynne (also known as Didi Ananda Ruchira) and her team at the Abha Light Foundation treat thousands of Kenyans every year in homeopathic and naturopathic health clinics. Many would not otherwise have access to conventional primary health care. 75% of their patients have HIV/AIDS. Recent research has shown that results from the homeopathic medicine and nutritional therapy used in the clinics are on a par with standard HIV/AIDS treatment.

How it all started

When Didi Ananda Ruchira arrived in Kenya in 1998 she found that 60% of the population lacked access to basic health care due to limited services and high costs for conventional treatment. Many lived in the overcrowded slums of Nairobi on less than a dollar a day, where disease was widespread and HIV/AIDS had reached epidemic proportions. Today 16% of the population has HIV/AIDS.

As a new and enthusiastic homeopath she started treating patients, who would have otherwise gone untreated, with a mixture of homeopathic medicines and naturopathic therapies. 75% of her patients were suffering from HIV/AIDS related illnesses.

Spreading alternative and affordable health care

Didi soon established a permanent clinic in the slums and spread further a field into the surrounding villages and towns. There are now four permanent clinics in and around Nairobi. However her vision was more than just to treat a few hundred people in the permanent clinics. Her goal was to provide alternative and affordable health care in the whole of Africa (see also project description of Ghana Homeopathy Project).

In 2001 she set up the Abha Light Foundation, which also has a training college where Kenyans study natural medicine. Once they have qualified, the students are supported to open satellite clinics to spread this medicine as far and wide as possible. There are now 10 qualified homeopaths and 25 students in training.

Abha Light also sends out teams to rural towns and villages to open mobile clinics in isolated villages. They receive invitations from all over Kenya to conduct mobile clinics. Their trainee-graduates work in teams and go out regularly to 10-12 sites a month.

The advantages of homeopathy and natural medicines

Homeopathic and natural medicine is very cost effective (particularly in comparison to HIV/AIDS HAART treatments), free from side effects and does not rely on expensive diagnostic equipment. These aspects of natural medicine make it easier to administer whilst mobile and in hard to reach areas. An experienced homeopath can treat dozens of patients for only a few pounds sterling (£) and in places where a doctor is two days walk away, a simple self-help kit is a lifeline.

Presently Homeopathy is relatively unknown in Kenya and much of Africa. Models for effective public treatment can, however, be found in many countries around the world such as India, Mexico, USA, UK and South Africa. There, Homeopathy works side by side with conventional medicine and provides an economical alternative that is badly needed.

What is relatively little known is that in some countries Homeopathy is being successfully used to control HIV and AIDS, with the result that the patient's life span is dramatically increased, the quality of life improved and he/she is able to live a relatively normal life (if you would like to see the reports of research please click the attachment at the bottom of this page called - 'ABHA LIGHT report on successful use of homeopathy to treat HIV-AIDS patients')

A living example

In January 2005, Wilbert, then 27, came to the free Juja Road clinic, suffering from third stage HIV, bordering on full-blown AIDS. He was showing all the "usual" signs, coughing, bouts of diarrhea, loss of appetite, weight loss and skin rashes. He had been advised to go on a conventional triple-drug treatment (anti-retral viral therapy or ARTs), but was very unenthusiastic given the side effects that he had seen friends suffer from.

Didi put him on a course of homeopathic treatment and nutritional therapy as outlined in Didi’s book Great Health, Naturally! Part 1. Within 10 days, most symptoms had receded and six weeks later Wilbert was feeling much more energetic. By July of that year he had gained weight, his skin had cleared, his cough was gone and his CD4 count was up. To read more please visit their website directly here