Links for Life: Promoting Integrated HIV

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Links for Life Promoting Integrated HIV FNS
ProgrammingProject Concern
International (PCI)December 11, 2007
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Why the need?
People most affected by HIVAIDS also suffer
from hunger HIV undermines FNS, while FNS
contributes directly to spread of HIV, hastens
progression to AIDS Worlds of FNS and HIV are
disconnected, especially at lvl Overall,
dual influences of HIV food/nutrit insecurity
set stage for disaster at multiple lvls.
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What causes food insecurity, particularly where
HIV is prevalent?

• Mono-cropping
• Climate change escalating drought conditions
• Lack of stamina due to illness
• Loss of labor due to death
• Inter-generational knowledge loss, lack of
• farming assets, lack of savings to buy seeds
  
• plants, etc
• Conflict governance issues continue to
• disrupt lives livelihoods

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The HIV/AIDS Journey
Prevention
Positive Living
Treatment Support
Impact Mitigation
Livelihoods and Food Security Strategies
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FNS are more important than ever before, to

• Support prevention efforts to reduce risk
• Enable positive living, including Rx adherence,
  support immune sys. function
• Mitigate the impact of illness and death on
  families by protecting assets livelihood
  options
• Assist over-burdened health systems to retain
  skilled staff provide quality care

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• The Forum took place in Lusaka, Zambia
• May 8 12, 2006
• PCI was the lead organization, in partnership
  with many others

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The first event of its kind

• enabling 220 front-line workers from 16 African
  nations to exchange ideas learn from each other
  about how to integrate HIVAIDS, food
  livelihood programming.

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Forum Declaration

• A Call to Action developed,
• prioritizing need to
• 1. Create mechanisms for
• promoting field-based learning
• 2. Continue the sharing of experiences, skills
  and knowledge, with an eye towards scaling up
  promising interventions
• 3. Strengthen awareness influence funding
  policy environments

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Links for Life Promoting Integrated HIV/FNS
Programming

• The Initiatives Three Components Include
• Communities of Practice
• Africa Forum 2008
• 3. FANSHA - Creating supportive policy funding
  environmt in coordination with HANC

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Communities of Practice (CoP)

• Purpose? Promote field-based learning knowledge
  generation on emerging practices
• Why? Responding to demand
• What? Promising/Emerging Practices
• Where? Malawi Ethiopia Zambia?
• How? Through from partners
• existing networks
• When? Kick off February 2008?
• 1 yr duration?

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Africa Forum 2008

• Purpose? Inter-country sharing to ? skills
  knowledge in HIV/FNS programming, facilitate
  scale-up
• Why? Responding to the demand incentive for
  CoPs
• Where? Lake Malawi
• When? November 9-14, 2008
• How? from partners?
• Fndts? Corps.? Other?

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FANSHA

• Purpose? Respond to urgent need to strengthen
  awareness around HIV/FNS influence policy
  decisions globally
• Who? 43 members from 25 orgs collaboration
  with HANC
• When? Bi-monthly conf calls
• email communiqués
• How? Volunteer time
• Needs? Formalize group via
• secretariat website

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Immediate Links4Life Next Steps

• Hire CoP Country Coordinators- ideas?
• Roll out CoP groups
• Secure funding!!
• Negotiate contracts in Malawi
• Develop Call for Participation

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Meanwhile, stars aligning w/FNS bill to parallel
PEPFAR

• Nutritional Assmt counseling - all PLHIV
• Therap/Suppl feeding - malnourished PLHIV
• (BMI gt18.5) on Rx OVC families
• PMTCT - nutritional assmt, counseling, suppt
• to pre/post natal ? infants
• Indicators to measure FNS outcomes
• ? coordination btwn PEPFAR, USAID, USDA

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Links4Life How to Get Involved?

• Encourage your org to support Links4Life
  Initiative human capitol financial resources!
• Participate in Steering Committee
• Participate in FANSHA/HANC planning events
• Field staff participation in CoPs AF08
• For more info, get in touch with MOI
  godonnell_at_projectconcern.org 202-223-0088 x1