JOHANNESBURG, Nov 7 (AFP) - A two-day UN conference agreed Thursday on a major shift in disaster policy in southern Africa, saying a current food shortage in the region has become a full-blown humanitarian crisis because of HIV/AIDS.
Urban Jonsson, UNICEF's regional director in southern and east Africa, said some 60 delegates at the meeting north of Johannesburg agreed to move away from a focus on food aid to dealing with the greater impact of the disease.
"Up to now we have defined it as a food crisis. But the food shortages here are just the first significant manifestation of a greater problem, namely HIV/AIDS," he told AFP during an interview.
"This is a new type of famine, something that we have not seen in Africa before. We must address HIV/AIDS as part of dealing with food shortages," he said.
Jonsson said the new way of dealing with the crisis should take a holistic approach.
"We need a reformulation of a plan with a more scientific approach. We need world assistance to carry out this plan," he added.
UNAIDS spokesman Richard Lee told AFP: "They are discussing the links between AIDS and the humanitarian crisis in the region and are trying to come up with the best way of dealing with the crisis."
"Fortifying our maize meal is one of the recommendations we are looking into," added Lee, explaining that the fortification process involved enrichment of food by adding nutrients such as vitamins.
"We're looking at fortifying our maize meal to ensure that people get the nutrients they need. Everyone, not only people with AIDS, will benefit."
The meeting, which started on Wednesday morning, was attended by representatives from UN agencies, local and international non-governmental organisations, donor nations and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
A UNAIDS statement has said people living with HIV/AIDS should increase their food intake and eat about 50 percent more protein and foods rich in micronutrients.
A report by the UN Special Envoy for Humanitarian Needs in southern Africa showed that HIV/AIDS was the single greatest threat to the region's people. Agricultural production has fallen significantly because many adults were too sick to work, UNAIDS said.
The most affected countries are Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The UN estimated that HIV/AIDS was responsible for a 9.6 percent depletion in Zimbabwe's agricultural labour force in 2000, while Malawi lost 5.8 percent.
UN figures said, without food aid, 14.4 million people in the six countries would face starvation in the next few months. At least 5.9 million people are suffering from HIV/AIDS and there are more than 2 million AIDS orphans.
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