Durban—Two hundred development experts and practitioners from across Africa and the world are gathering here today to examine the connections between HIV/AIDS, agriculture, and food and nutrition security. The conference, “HIV/AIDS and Food and Nutrition Security: From Evidence to Action,” runs from April 14 to 16, and is organized by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in collaboration with a number of partners.
The purpose of the event is to bring together policymakers, donors, and researchers from health, agriculture, and other sectors so they can develop strategies together to improve and scale-up effective programs. These strategies will focus on two linked objectives: 1) fighting the pandemic and 2) ensuring that each of the participating sectors succeeds in achieving their primary goals. Organizers contend that programs which do not take HIV/AIDS into account are much more likely to fail.
“Research and experience have confirmed that HIV/AIDS and food insecurity are increasingly entwined in a vicious cycle,” explained Stuart Gillespie, IFPRI senior research fellow and chief organizer of the conference. “Malnutrition and food insecurity heightens susceptibility to HIV exposure and infection, while AIDS in turn exacerbates hunger and malnutrition.”
The links between the AIDS pandemic and hunger are particularly acute in rural communities, where households are often dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods, both as a source of income and food. Moreover, agriculture is the main source of livelihood for the majority of people infected with HIV. Consequently, agricultural policies and programs that are blind to HIV/AIDS can actually accelerate the spread of the virus and fail to help households cope with its effects.
“This disease is having disastrous consequences for agriculture by affecting adults at the height of their productive years, reducing labor power and other resources, and making it difficult for poor people to provide food for their families,” said Joseph Tumushabe, consultant to the UN Commission on HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa. “Though not visible with the macro-level data that economists frequently use, the pandemic is clearly worsening inequalities. For that reason, ensuring rural livelihoods, including those dependent on agriculture, and mainstreaming HIV/AIDS work into all rural development projects, is critically important for mitigating the effects of the epidemic.”
To learn more about the interactions between agriculture—as well as other rural livelihood systems—and the spread and effects of HIV/AIDS, conference participants will analyze a number of specific case studies, including:
- the rural epidemic in Ethiopia and its implications for market-led agricultural development,
- effects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on the labor market and wages in Malawi, and
- susceptibility and vulnerability issues among the fishing communities of Lake Kioga in Uganda.
“We are at a watershed,” emphasized Dr. Gillespie. “Though gaps in knowledge remain, the connections between HIV/AIDS and food and nutrition insecurity are generally well known. However, the next step—of using this knowledge to take effective action—has yet to be taken. This conference aims to collectively take that step. ”
Turning from evidence to action, delegates will assess what is known about existing policies, programs, and interventions that have sought to prevent the spread of HIV or mitigate its effects. They will also discuss the types of support needed from governments, civil society, the private sector, and international agencies.
“Within the development community, HIV/AIDS is often viewed only as a health issue, separate from agriculture and other sectors. As a result, there is limited collaboration across sectors, resulting in lost opportunities to fight this pandemic effectively,” said Gladys Mutangadura with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. “But HIV/AIDS is a large-scale problem, requiring a large-scale response, and we are determined to win the struggle against this devastating disease.”
For more information, contact:
m.pietrowski@cgiar.org
m.rubinstein@cgiar.org
The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) seeks sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty. IFPRI is one of 15 Future Harvest Centers and receives its principal funding from 64 governments, private foundations, and international and regional organizations known as the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research.