Food Security and HIV/AIDS: Understanding the Implications for Sustainable Livelihoods.

1. Food Security and HIV/AIDS: Understanding the Implications for Sustainable Livelihoods. Presented by Varaidzo Nyadenga FAMILY AIDS CARING TRUST (FACT) MUTARE, ZIMBABWE

2. How efforts to build sustainable livelihoods in agriculture are affected by HIV/AIDS 1. High mortality rates among the active labour force • Loss of financial, social and human capital • FAO predicts 16m will die in Sub Saharan Africa by 2020 and more than 10m have already died • reduced farm labour • Reduced cultivated area due to labour shortages • Crop variety production dwindles and families opt to grow one crop in order to reduce labour demands • Loss of remittances that often support the family in the rural areas • Loss of agricultural knowledge, practices and skills especially among the young 2. More female headed households • They are heading households with large numbers of orphaned children, • There is a higher dependency ratio in the female headed households • Some households headed by elderly grandparents • Both the elderly and female household heads have no access to credit • The same females are providing care services in their households and in the community where they live, leaving them with no time for other economic activities • They lose assets at the time of death of their spouse • There is very little labour to assist them in preparing and tilling the land and they go from one season to the next without adequate food for their large households

3. How food insecurity shapes the context for working on HIV/AIDS • Food insecurity threatens the current prevention responses and messages on HIV & AIDS, uptake of ART • Food insecurity makes people more vulnerable by causing them to engage in risky behaviours as they try to fend for their families, particularly women who often have no access to economic resources thus food insecurity oftentimes increases women’s vulnerability • It becomes imperative for organisations to marry short and long term needs in planning responses for the most vulnerable people • This will help people act on current prevention messages

4. Responses by communities and organisations – FACT’s response Background to FAMILY AIDS CARING TRUST (FACT) Zimbabwe • Was founded in 1987 - the first organisation to respond to HIV & AIDS in Zimbabwe • Programmes have evolved over time as a response to emerging needs as the epidemic itself changes Programmes include: • Counselling services • Home Based Care • Orphan Care • Regional Training & Capacity building • Voluntary Counselling & Testing services • Support for People Living With HIV/AIDS • Prevention programmes for Youths • Sustainable Livelihoods

5. Responses by organisations (cont..) • The evolution of FACT mirrors the epidemic • At community level, FACT has long standing ties built on social relations • The organisation is building on and strengthening existing responses, considered important for social capital • Interventions are targeted at orphans and vulnerable children (OVC), households looking after OVC particularly those being headed by children, women and elderly grandparents • Project process – includes staff capacity building in use of PRA tools, Sustainable Livelihood Approaches, livelihoods analysis, identification of beneficiaries for livelihoods interventions

6. Characteristics of our interventions • Interventions focus on increasing agricultural production for household consumption and sell of surplus for the family’s other needs • Interventions take into account the serious labour shortages in households being supported , therefore they are less labour intensive but still allow high yields • Are short and long term to allow the most vulnerable households access to financial resources badly needed for medication, school fees, food and other household expenses • Low labour technologies like the drip kit are used • Small livestock and potato production • Projects take place near or at the home thus reducing the amount of time and labour needed for production and availing more time for women who have other care duties in the community • Individual and community gardens that allow access to diversified diets and nutritious food • Allow beneficiaries to diversify to allow continuous supply of income throughout the year • Include capacity building in relevant skills for project beneficiaries and community committees running the project to allow for continued transmission of agricultural knowledge, skills and practices particularly to children • Promote and strengthen existing coping mechanisms (zunde raMambo or the chief’s field) whose proceeds feed the most vulnerable members of the community • Exchange visits among beneficiaries in different areas to allow for knowledge sharing • The project operates in collaboration with representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture who provide technical support, local leaders and community care givers