Daniel Uirab’s plea is simple: He needs food to take the medication that keeps him going.
“I just want to take my medication,” he says.
Uirab (28) is epileptic, has asthma and is also an HIV patient. He is appealing to the public for food to take his epilepsy, asthma and HIV medication. Uirab (28), who lives alone at Groot Aub and is unemployed, says he cannot provide for himself and is struggling to take medication regularly because he does not have enough food. He says he stopped taking his antiretroviral (ARV) medication about two months ago because it makes him feel weak when he takes it without food.
Uirab has been battling illness since 2015 and his situation has become increasingly difficult since losing his mother in 2019. He says he has been living without close family support since then.
On 9 August, after running out of medication, he planned to walk from Groot Aub to Windhoek to seek medication and help, but fainted.
“I fainted because I’m epileptic. The next thing I saw, I was in the hospital,” he says.
On 17 September, Uirab walked to Windhoek again. He stayed in hospital corridors as he was hungry and couldn’t find help, nor did he have transport money to go back home.
“I didn’t even eat yesterday. The hospital could not give me food because I wasn’t a patient. Even today, I haven’t eaten anything,” Uirab told The Namibian last week.
He says he faints at least four times a day. He also says he is an only child and does not know his father.
“I’ve never seen or met him. I don’t have anyone.” Uirab says he also no longer communicates with his mother’s siblings for personal reasons. With nowhere else to turn, Uirab says he sometimes relies on assistance from the councillor’s office.
“I survive from the councillor’s office, but he cannot always provide for me. Mostly only when the doctor writes me a letter to take to them,” he says.
‘WE HAVE TO ROTATE’
Windhoek Rural constituency councillor Willem Gariseb on Friday confirmed Uirab’s condition.
He, however, told The Namibian his office can only assist Uirab when resources are available.
Gariseb said about 240 people in the constituency are HIV-positive and also require assistance. “Many people need assistance. They are assisted on a rotational basis. We only get 40 bags of maize every three months. We cannot always give to him – we need to rotate,” he said.
Records from the councillor’s office show Uirab received food assistance on 7 September.
But for Uirab, this help is not enough to guarantee he would have food when he needs to take his medication. His appeal remains simple: “I just want to take my medication.”
Windhoek-based medical doctor Martha Nangombe says medication may be less effective when a person is malnourished or not eating adequately, as poor nutrition compromises the immune system.
“For a system to be strong, it needs to be complemented by adequate meals and a balanced diet. If someone is starving, the medication will not be effective because the immune system is weak,” she says.
Nangombe says taking medication on an empty stomach can worsen the situation.
