HIV-positive Venezuelans rely on leaves as medicine dries up

As Venezuela’s hyperinflation and chronic medicine shortages leave HIV patients with little hope of obtaining antiretroviral drugs, many are now relying on the leaves of a tropical tree known as the guasimo.

For each dose, patients use about 50 leaves from the tree, which is often used for lumber and is also known as the West Indian elm. They run the leaves through a blender with water, then strain and drink the liquid.

Doctors and patients alike have questioned the effectiveness of the remedy, which has for years been used in Venezuela and Brazil as a complement to pharmaceutical treatment. But HIV patients hoping to ward off Aids increasingly see it as better than nothing.

“I have nothing to lose,” said one HIV-positive man, asking not to be identified because his co-workers are unaware of his diagnosis. For years he received antiretrovirals provided free by the state, but supplies dried up as the country’s socialist economic system unravelled. After five months of not taking medication, his doctor recommended the leaf concoction.

“My mind keeps telling me I m going to die; I got into this situation because the government doesn t provide medication.”

Dr ’Carlos Perez began recommending the treatment at the start of 2018 when the shortage of antiretrovirals became acute. He tells patients to drink the guasimo-leaf beverage twice a day for a month.

“It is a complementary treatment,” said Perez, who is part of an organisation called Solidarity Action that helps provide care for HIV patients.

One “component of these leaves is tannin, a biochemical component that apparently has antiviral properties”.

The information ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the shortage of antiretrovirals.

Antiretrovirals can generally only be bought abroad, and a month of treatment costs at least $85, the equivalent of nearly a year at the minimum wage. Annual inflation reached 1.3million percent in November.

The Venezuela office of the Joint UN Programme on HIV and Aids said that as of 2016 Venezuela had 120,000 people who were HIV-positive, 61% of whom were taking antiretrovirals. The agency said it relies on the government for the data.

Some doctors insist the only real solution for HIV patients is for the government to create functioning policies.

“The state has failed in its obligations” said Felix Oletta, a former health minister and member of NGO Defending Epidemiology. He said the leaf beverage “does absolutely nothing, nor is it a treatment with any scientific backing”.