Regional Network on HIV/AIDS, Livelihoods and Food Security

Report Back from South Africa

Scott Drimie Khethiwe Mngadi Benny SikhakhaneRENEWAL South Africa Department of Social Development Department of Health

RENEWAL III Workshop12 March 2007

Estimated number of adults and children living with HIV/ AIDS, end of 2005

These estimates include all people with HIV infection, whether or not they have developed symptoms of AIDS, alive at the end of 2005:

Adults and children 5,540,000

Adults (15-49) 4,900,000 Adult rate (%) 18.78

Women (15-49) 2,940,000

Children (0-15) 235,060

Estimated number of deaths due to AIDS

Estimated number of adults and children who died of AIDS during 2003:

Deaths in 2003 370,000

Estimated number of orphans

Estimated number of children who have lost their mother or father or both parents to AIDS and who were alive and under age 17 at the end of 2003:

Current living orphans 1,100,000

HIV/AIDS in South Africa: An Overview

Food Security in South Africa: An Overview

The cause of hunger and malnutrition in South Africa is not due to overall shortage of food but access to food by certain groups of the population.

Since the majority of people buy their staple foods from commercial suppliers, rather than growing it themselves, access to food is largely dependent on (direct or indirect) access to cash.

Stunting and underweight, the country’s most prevalent nutritional disorders, are most severe in children 1 to 3 years of age due to inadequate protein, vitamin and mineral intake.

HIV/AIDS and Food Insecurity

There is growing evidence in South Africa that the HIV/AIDS pandemic is linked to decreased levels and stability of access, availability and utilisation of food – the three common elements of food security.

The effects are two-way.

Not only does HIV/AIDS exacerbate food and nutrition insecurity, but the spread of the virus is accelerated when people – because of their worsening poverty – are forced to adopt ever

more risky food provisioning strategies.

Government Priorities

The New National Strategic AIDS Plan is intended to guide government for next 5 years:

– Halving the rate of new infections – Provide treatment and support for 80% of people

diagnosed with HIV by 2011.

Clear opportunity to bring in food security linkages through an integrated response at local level.

RENEWAL: Moving in the Divided Space

RENEWALAction Research

CapacityCommunications

Improved Improved Multi-Multi-

DirectionalDirectionalDialogueDialogue

InstitutionInstitution

al al adaptationadaptation

ss

Core pillars/processes

Action research

CommunicationsCapacity

Action researchNAP selectionEngagement with decision makersPartnerships

Part of broader research strategy3 completed studies (SA)3 unfolding (2 regional)NAP priorities

Briefings Dissemination Presentations Action orientatedNetworking

RENEWAL SA Impact

Research Uptake - DLA Task Team and M&E Directorate

Member of Information Expert Working Group of Social Cluster

Growing Network (electronic database and email updates)

Regular presentations to academia and government, occasional media commentary

Capacity strengthening - food security directorate livelihoods training

Further development of SAVI framework

The National Advisory Panel

Representatives from National Departments of Health (Nutrition), Agriculture (Food Security), Social Development, the Medical Research Council, HEARD, and RADAR (Wits).

HEARD functions as the focal institution (based at UKZN).

Plans to formalise quarterly meetings in both Pretoria and Durban

NAP to develop a strategy to support feed into emerging Comprehensive Plan

Future Plans

Health and Social Development (NAP representatives) are leading on the development of a plan to operationalise an integrated response to food security and HIV/AIDS at local level.

This is intended provide guidance to the emerging comprehensive response to HIV/AIDS.

This to be funded by government departments working in collaboration with RENEWAL.

Future Plans

Although there are interventions aimed at improving food security, they tend to be isolated, on a small-scale and there is little evidence of their effectiveness.

In some cases departments are duplicating services rather than complementing actions to maximize impact:

– both departments are providing home/community based care and nutrition support either as supplements and/or food parcels

-- both departments have HIV and AIDS awareness and prevention programmes that are not necessarily implemented congruent to each other.

Future Plans

Need for research and information on successful programmes specifically designed to deal with food, nutrition and their underlying determinants in HIV and AIDS context.

RENEWAL role to assist in strengthening action research - particularly around good practice and scaling up - and focus on long-term interventions with HIV/food insecurity

RENEWAL to engage in grounding concepts of food insecurity and HIV/AIDS impact

RENEWAL to continue to play a role in advising government

around these issues through NAP