Organic Agriculture and HIV/AIDS - the Nutritional Response

Summary

HIV/AIDS is devastating communities around the world and no more so than in SSA. It impacts equally in urban and rural areas, rich and poor. The rural poor – the nations’ food providers – are ill-equipped to draw together resources for mitigating these impacts. The extra expenses of medicines, and funerals, means that rural farming families are forced to sell their capital assets, such as livestock, and land. The new farming workforce shifts to increasingly comprise children and the elderly, and traditional knowledge is lost. Through a review of literature and compilation of case studies, this research aims to deepen understanding and bring fresh perspectives and clarity on the role of organic agriculture and its relation to nutrition and food security, in preventing and mitigating the impacts of people living with HIV and AIDS in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA). It explores the notion that whilst there is no cure for HIV/AIDS, a locally-grown, nutritious diet is just as effective in mitigating the impacts as more expensive and hard-to-access pharmaceutical products. It goes on to identify the policies and practices required to support the widespread production of healthy foodstuffs for people living with HIV/AIDS.