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Activities

IP-Uganda
In Uganda, the HIV/AIDS impact study findings were shared with stakeholders in Masaka and Luweero districts in June, involving local government departments, civil society organizations, faith-based organisations and extension workers from communities where the study was conducted. Stakeholders identified local initiatives to collaborate with in future responses and suggested a range of possible mitigation strategies that included promotion of labour saving technologies, improving nutrition, encouraging labour pooling, reinforcing community based mechanisms to preserve local knowledge and diversification of livelihoods. Based on these suggestions, the IP has decided to implement the following two projects in Uganda:

HIV/AIDS integral resource training materials: The project will mainly focus on the development of training materials for frontline extension workers and a sensitisation workshop at the districts level in Masaka, Iganga and Luweero districts. A joint undertaking by IP and FNPP (FAO Netherland's Partnership Programme) in Masaka will support institutional analysis and training of front-line extension workers and CBO staff in Bukakata Sub-County. The resource material will enable agriculture extension workers to address emerging needs of households affected by HIV/AIDS, and to advise on appropriate responses.
Collaborating services/programmes at FAO/HQ: FNPP, SDAR, ESNP, SDRE and SDW.

A participatory communication campaign: This project will design and test a participatory multi-media communication campaign on HIV/AIDS and agriculture by using radio, posters and community theatre in Masaka and Luweero. The campaign aims at improving local awareness and up-take of messages related to what households and communities can practically do to tackle and alleviate some of the negative impacts of HIV/AIDS on their livelihoods, agricultural production and food security. The messages will be linked to the resource training material above. A local NGO, the Uganda Media Women Association (UMWA), will assist in the coordination of the campaign.
Collaborating services at FAO/HQ: SDRE and SDW.

The IP is currently establishing district and national level multi-sectoral groups to participate in the development of training resource materials and to design the communication campaign, a process aimed at ensuring representation of the local needs and ownership of the products.

IP-Zambia
In Zambia, the IP stakeholders at national and district level have identified a large number of HIV/AIDS mitigation strategies, and they have decided to focus on the following two projects:

Nutritional awareness and promotional campaign: The IP baseline survey showed that most rural households lack knowledge on utilisation of locally available foods to meet their nutritional needs despite the diversity of food crops they grow. The project will involve promotion of consumption and processing of traditional/locally available foods to assist improving the food and nutrition situations of HIV/AIDS affected households. Collaborating services at FAO/HQ: ENSP and SDW.

Information packaging and dissemination on HIV/AIDS impacts on rural livelihoods: Information on impacts of HIV/AIDS on agricultural production, food and nutrition security among rural households will be packaged and disseminated to critical stakeholders. Information will also include examples of appropriate and sustainable mitigation measures against the HIV/AIDS pandemic's impacts on rural livelihoods.

The target groups are households in the three communities of Monze, Choma and Sinazongwe districts where the IP baseline survey was conducted, and in particular female headed households, widows and households fostering orphans.

Activities related to the IP in Zambia:

As of the beginning of September, the Government of Ireland has been supporting an HIV/AIDS related project through the FAO Office in Zambia with technical backstopping from SDW. The title of the project is: Improving Rural Livelihoods of HIV/AIDS Affected Households in Northern Province, Zambia. Through this new project, household livelihood research will be conducted in 2003. As a contribution to the project, the IP is funding a two-week SEAGA training workshop, with a special emphasis on gender issues in household resource management in the context of the pandemic. The training, being held between 1 and 12 September, is specifically directed towards the teams who will conduct the research in Northern Province, and includes participatory appraisal tools, facilitation and survey techniques and information on HIV/AIDS, gender, and rural livelihoods linkages. This will give the research team and extension workers a solid basis for the field work (to be conducted 25 Sept-18 Oct 2003).

The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MACO) in Zambia has formally requested FAO assistance to build institutional capacity in mitigating HIV/AIDS impact on the agricultural sector in Zambia. A TCP proposal on this topic is presently under review at FAO Headquarters in Rome.

IP-Namibia

The IP in Namibia organized feedback meetings in the communities that had been surveyed in Ohangwena Region and consultative meetings with regional stakeholders in May and June 2003. During these meetings they decided on priority areas and established mechanisms for effective coordination and implementation of HIV/AIDS mitigation activities in target communities. In Namibia the IP is implementing activities related to the following four areas (key partners in parentheses):

Prevention of asset stripping (The Ministry of Women Affairs and Child Welfare - MWACW): The survey found that 44% of the widows had lost cattle, 28% had lost small livestock and 41% had lost farm equipment to relatives after the household's male head had died. The project will sensitize and train local leaders and community base support workers in the use of appropriate materials on the rights of women, orphans and vulnerable children in affected communities. Collaborating services at FAO/HQ: SDAA (FAOSAFR).

Youth mobilization and capacity building (Ministry of High Education, Training and Employment Creation - MHETEC): The objective with this project is to support intergenerational transfer of agricultural knowledge and skills. Activities will include leadership training, and capacity building related to HIV/AIDS, nutrition and income generation. Collaborating services at FAO/HQ: SDRE and SDW.

Provide more responsive rural services to households affected by HIV/AIDS: (Ministry of Health and Social Services - MoHSS in Ohangwena region): Information on food security and nutrition for PLWHA has been identified as major knowledge gap. Appropriate material will be developed and reproduced, and home-based care, health and extension workers will be trained together. Local materials, in particular a book developed by Catholic AIDS Action called "Healthy eating for people living with HIV/AIDS" will be adapted. Collaborating services at FAO/HQ: ESNP and SDW.

Promote sustainable agricultural production and access to resources for vulnerable group within affected communities (Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Rural Development MAWRD - regional extension office and NOREESP): The project plans are still being developed, but they intend to have a main emphasis on poultry production.

For more information about the IP activities in:
Namibia, contact Imms Namaseb, IP-coordinator at Africa Institutional Management Services (AIMS). Tel: +264 61 245917, fax: +264 61 241914, e-mail: iprog@mweb.com.na and aims@iafrica.com.na
Uganda, contact David Mawejje, National IP-facilitator (davidmawejje@yahoo.com) or Dr. Silim Nahdy Executive Director at National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS). Tel: +256-041-345440, fax: +256-041-347843, e-mail: naads@utlonline.co.ug and URL: http://www.naads.or.
Zambia, contact Coillard Hamusimbi, IP coordinator at the Farming Systems Association of Zambia (FASAZ). Tel: +260-097-787078, e-mail: fasaz@zamnet.zm or chamusimbi@yahoo.com and URL: http://www.fasaz.org

Publications

IP baseline survey reports: Impacts of HIV/AIDS on rural livelihoods and agriculture in Namibia, Uganda and Zambia
Three comprehensive baseline survey reports from Zambia, Uganda and Namibia are currently being edited, and will be ready by the end of September. The findings show that the HIV/AIDS epidemic is slowly eroding food security, damaging rural livelihoods and exacerbating poverty. To pre-order a copy of one or all three reports, please send an e-mail to integrated-programme@fao.org. A summary of the preliminary findings have been consolidated into a 8 pages brochure. You can find this summary and download the brochure here or contact the integrated-programme@fao.org to obtain copies.

Documentary: "Sowing Seeds of Hunger"
"Sowing Seeds of Hunger," a new half-hour documentary produced by FAO in conjunction with the Television Trust for the Environment (TVE) were broadcasted on BBC World in May. To read more about the film and to listen to audio clips on the relationship between HIV/AIDS and food security, see FAO's "Focus on the issues" story at: http://www.fao.org/english/newsroom/focus/2003/aids.htm.

HIV/AIDS and Food Security website
FAO has recently launched an excellent new website on HIV/AIDS and Food Security. On http://www.fao.org/hivaids/ you can read more about the impacts of HIV/AIDS on agriculture and poor rural communities. You will also find possible agricultural responses and strategies to the epidemic. The website includes more than 50 FAO-publications and a number of interesting links.

Events

SEAGA training for IP stakeholders
This workshop is organised by SDW and the IP to provide gender and HIV/AIDS training for extension workers involved in the IP Programme. The aim of the workshop is to build participants' capacity to plan, organize and manage gender-sensitive programmes using FAO's Socio-Economic and Gender Analysis Programme (SEAGA) approach. The workshop is taking place in Engela, Namibia from 1-12 September. For more information, please contact seaga@fao.org or the IP in Namibia.

Research methods workshop: Gender-disaggregated data and social research methods in the context of HIV/AIDS
The impact of HIV/AIDS on agricultural production, food security and household resource management has been identified as a serious challenge to national agricultural research systems throughout the Eastern and Central African regions. The formulation and implementation of mitigation strategies to respond to this challenge requires an integrated and multidisciplinary approach based on a solid foundation of sound social research. The IP experiences during its Phase-II have shown the complex nature of the social research required to address issues of HIV/AIDS impacts, and have highlighted the need to strengthen the social research capacity of national agricultural research systems in the region in order to prepare for future research challenges that lie ahead.

Consequently, the FAO IP and the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA, http://www.asareca.org/) will hold a two-week regional workshop in Uganda on Gender-disaggregated Data (GDD) and social research methods in the context of HIV/AIDS from 3-14 November 2003.

The purpose is to enhance the capacity of national agricultural research-extension systems to conduct relevant social research on the impacts of HIV/AIDS on farming systems and rural livelihoods to guide agricultural policy and planning for HIV/AIDS impact mitigation. The workshop will provide training in both quantitative and qualitative social research methods, and will target social researchers working for the ASARECA regional agricultural research networks and from the IP countries.

For more information, please contact Alessandra.Garbero@fao.org or Isaac J. Minde at ASARECA, (ecapapa@imul.com).