International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - January 13, 2006
Risco Lumamezi in Caprivi and Morning-Star Rosario in Windhoek

"I tested HIV positive in 2003 and have been getting assistance from Namibia Red Cross Mapilelo project since 2004," she says.

Mapilelo, or "place of survival", supports the provision of antiretroviral therapy by the Namibian government with a six-month food parcel consisting of a bag of maize meal, cooking oil, dry beans, sugar and canned fish. After the food handout has ended, long term income generating activities sustain the nutrition of people living with HIV/AIDS receiving ARVs.

"I really appreciate the long-term support through income generating activities such as vegetable gardens, as I was stranded when the food parcels stopped. But now, I can grow my own food and buy my own soaps and other necessities," Charity adds.

The Caprivi region is one of the hardest hit regions in Namibia by food insecurity. The constant threat of recurrent drought and floods make inhabitants of the region, already made vulnerable by poverty and disease even more prone to hunger.

Thirty eight percent of the population of the region is under 15 years of age and the region has the highest HIV prevalence rate in the country, with 42 percent of pregnant women testing positive for HIV in 2004.

In 2003, the Namibia Red Cross launched a cross-border home based care project with the Red Cross Societies of Botswana and Zambia. This existing home based care project was the entry point for supporting the provision of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) by the Namibian government and a partnership with Bristol Myers Squib, a pharmaceutical company. This project also facilitates voluntary counselling and testing provided by the regional office of the Namibia Red Cross.

Currently about 500 ART and tuberculosis patients benefit from food parcels and donations. Additionally, 45 children made vulnerable by HIV have also benefited from World Food Programme provisions to address food insecurity through the Mapilelo home based care project in 2004.

With support from the Spanish Red Cross, a long-term food security component is being introduced through this home based care project, which will include crop farming, tourism, fish farming and poultry farming. It will also be the entry point for assistance offered through the food security emergency appeal launched by the International Federation in October 2005.

In seven countries of Southern Africa, the appeal will reinforce coping mechanisms and reduce hunger and vulnerability by building on existing initiatives, like home based care and address underlying causes of vulnerability such as poverty and gender inequality. In particular, the appeal focuses on reducing vulnerability for people living with HIV/AIDS and orphans.

In Namibia, 69, 000 beneficiaries will be targeted, of whom 45,000 will receive food assistance. Additionally, agricultural starter packs and hygiene education will also be facilitated through the appeal.

National empowerment coordinator for the Namibia Red Cross, Rosemary Nalisa, clarified that four communities in the Caprivi region have already been identified to start income generating projects.

"Recently, 21 participants from the rural areas of the Caprivi region attended a training workshop on income generating projects. Red Cross volunteers from the identified communities are working with the Ministries of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, Fisheries and Environment to start tourism, poultry, gardening and fish farming activities," she adds.

Regional manager for the Namibia Red Cross Society, Polly Helmut emphasised the importance of addressing food insecurity, especially when dealing with people living with HIV/AIDS and those on treatment. "You can not take tablets on an empty stomach. Many of our people do not have any food to eat right now. The fields are dry and there has been very little rain," she adds.

An added advantage of the food security component of home based care and treatment initiatives is that beneficiaries are more willing to access services once they know they will not be sent home hungry and that the programme will address other needs like food security.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies launched a food insecurity appeal in October seeking to give assistance to 1.5 million people facing hunger, like the people in Caprivi, until the harvest of 2006. Apart from food aid, plans include food-for-work projects, restoring self-reliance in agriculture, ensuring access to safe water and building the capacity of national Red Cross staff to deal with livelihood and food security problems. The operation will target people living with HIV and AIDS, households with orphans, female-headed households, people with disabilities and households headed by older people.

060113
IF060102

Copyright © 2006 - International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the IFRC Contact.

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2006. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 2006. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .