The potential role of food aid in mitigating the impacts of HIV/Aids

This paper identifies how food aid can be conceptualized in a development framework and examines potential mechanisms for the most effective targeting and distribution of such aid. The framework presented is based on the experiences in Zambia but the implications are relevant to any country or institution involved in alleviating the impacts of AIDS in developing country. Zambia is one of the worlds most HIV/AIDS-affected countries. With a population of around 9.3 million an estimated 1 in 5 adults aged 15-49 years were HIV-positive at the end of 1997. One recent study found that in 4 sample sites 17% of households had a chronically ill adult. The most common types of reported illness among the patients were cough/tuberculosis malaria sores rashes and diarrhea. HIV/AIDS exacerbates existing problems related to chronic poverty. Food aid can be valuable in assisting both households that contain chronically ill patients and communities that contain many children directly affected by adult morbidity and mortality. On the other hand the rising number of orphans also represents a huge social burden. It was suggested that participatory research methods should be used by nongovernmental organizations involved in AIDS care to assess the needs of every individual

Developing country · Development economics · Economic growth · Economics · Environmental health · Malaria · Population · Poverty · Tuberculosis · HIV/AIDS Impact and Responses · International Development and Aid · Medicine · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare · Immunology