Facilitated by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), RENEWAL is a growing regional "network-of-networks" in sub-Saharan Africa. Currently active in five 'hub' countries (Malawi, Uganda, Zambia, South Africa and Kenya), RENEWAL comprises national networks of food and nutrition-relevant organizations (public, private and non-governmental) together with partners in AIDS and public health. RENEWAL aims to enhance understanding of the worsening interactions between HIV/AIDS and food and nutrition security, and facilitate a comprehensive response to these interactions. Core objectives are:
- To reduce critical gaps in understanding how livelihoods, particularly those deriving from agriculture, a) contribute to the further spread of HIV (susceptibility), and b) are affected by HIV and AIDS (vulnerability);
- To generate new policy-relevant knowledge on how households and communities may strengthen both their resistance to HIV transmission and their resilience to the impacts of AIDS, and
- To enable relevant institutions (in particular, governments) to generate and to act upon realistic priorities for responding to the interactions of AIDS epidemics with food and nutrition insecurity.
RENEWAL is both a network and a process, with the process of network development being viewed as both a means and an end. The aim is to enhance and sustain impact through pro-actively establishing links between locally-prioritized research, capacity strengthening and policy communications.
RENEWAL is grateful for current support provided by Irish Aid, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), the Rockefeller Foundation, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).