Background to action

It is now widely accepted that AIDS in not just a health issue. In the recently developed Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, the Malawi people and government designated HIV/AIDS as a crosscutting issue, and the Malawi National HIV/AIDS Strategic Framework 2000-2004 calls for “an expanded, multi-sectoral national response to the epidemic.” However the capacity to respond to these calls lags behind. In many sectors, policy making still proceeds as if HIV/AIDS never happened.Non-PRIFPRI1; GRP33; RENEWALISNA

Rural livelihoods and resilience to impacts of HIV / AIDS in Malawi

The project investigated social factors and livelihood strategies that contribute to resilience in relation to HIV/AIDS and food insecurity. Study sites include a cassava-based subsistence farming system; a maize-based subsistence farming system; and a tobacco commercial farming system. At the time of this presentation (2005) it is estimated that 10 people die every hour in Malawi due to HIV/AIDS -240 die every day. The most productive age group (especially women) are affected, as the household ability to produce food is curtailed. Recommendations include that Government/NGOs provide agricultural credit and extension services to affected families who are land constrained