Back to Index

Targeted food assistance in the context of HIV/AIDS
Consortium for Southern Africa Food Security Emergency (C-SAFE)
September 16, 2004

Download this document
- Acrobat PDF version (537KB)

If you do not have the free Acrobat reader on your computer, download it from the Adobe website by clicking here.

Executive summary
As a regional program implemented by a consortium of sixteen NGOs, C-SAFE presents a wealth of opportunities for both reflective practice within the consortium and dissemination of better practices and lessons learned to a broader stakeholder audience. This study reviewed C-SAFE's targeted feeding programs in order to better understand the opportunities, constraints and better practices associated with targeted food assistance with particular with emphasis on HIV/AIDS-affected individuals and households

The findings are presented in two sections:

Section 1:
Targeted Food Assistance (for non-medical interventions) describes five thematic areas of programming. Each theme is analyzed, case studies depicting better practices are provided and key learning points are summarized. Topics such as beneficiary targeting and selection, and the development of graduation and exit strategies are widely applicable, although the specific challenges and lessons from working in an HIV/AIDS context are drawn out. Creative initiatives to provide complementary programming and appropriate food rations are particularly relevant to country programs with a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS.

Section 2:
Linking Targeted Food Assistance with Medical Interventions is distinct from Section 1 because although linking food support to medical interventions is a relatively new area of programming for C-SAFE members, there has been a clear demand for direction about how to link food assistance with TB, PMTCT, & ART programming. This section comprises a brief background statement followed by guidance notes derived from existing technical literature and interviews with C-SAFE technical staff and stakeholders. These guidance notes will be updated as better practices emerge and empirical evidence begins to inform programming.

C-SAFE has deliberately disseminated this document as a 'draft' to provide an opportunity for consortium members and other stakeholders to review and provide feedback on the content before the document is finalized. The onus is clearly on the southern Africa region to intentionally document and disseminate learning on the use of food assistance where HIV prevalence is high. This study is intended to provide a springboard to further discussion and much-needed research that will drive decision-making and programming here and around the world.

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP