National Nutrition and HIV/AIDS Guidelines for Service Providers of ...

younger siblings.
° Sale of key assets like livestock to meet medical and nutrition costs.
° Shift to less labour intensive farming systems (e.g. small stock, maize, tubers, melons, sweet
reed).
° Reduction in area cultivated and leaving more land fallow.
Mechanisms to improve food security and nutritional intake for PLWHA and affected families should be
designed and implemented at household, community and national levels. These may include, diet
diversification, increased production of nutritious, low cost and non labour intensive crop products,
involvement in small income generating activities, keeping animals both as a source of food and
income.
Adequate food and nutrition security have a buffering role to play in mitigating the impact of HIV and
AIDS at individual, community and national levels. Therefore, more attention must be paid to and
special focus redirected to food security and nutrition considerations in the disease prevention, care
and support.
As a service provider you should be aware of strategies available to strengthen food access and
availability among households affected by HIV/AIDS. The following are strategies that PLWHA can use to
cope in a food insecure situation:
At Household Level:
° Involvement in income generating activities such as small stock (goats, sheep, pigs, rabbits,
etc.), poultry (chickens, doves, ducks, etc) and bee keeping.
° Involvement in food production e.g. back yard gardening for consumption as well as for income
generation
° Using money economically and wisely, for example, by purchasing cheaper but nutritious foods
and other seasonally or locally available foods.
° Encourage utilization of veld and indigenous products e.g. motopi, mmupudu, moretologa,
mogwana, moretlwa, mosata, maboa, morula, dikgeru/dicheru, mogorogorwana,
makgomane, makatane, lerotse, etc.
° Only sell assets such as livestock to generate extra income as a last resort.
° Improving food preparation and practices to minimize nutrients loss and enhance nutrient bioavailability
(refer to chapter 8 Food Safety).
° Encourage and strengthen food storage for future use.
58