Sight and Life Magazine 1/2011

86 WHAT'S NEWFood and nutrition security is also an essential element of effectivecare and support in HIV-affected households and communities.In low-income countries, HIV contributes to foodinsecurity and malnutrition and has consequences for entirecommunities and societies, with the potential to significantlyslow down economic development. Livelihoods are disruptedas PLHIV lose the ability to work, which exacerbates food insecurity,and they and their families are often excluded frominformal safety nets because of the stigma associated withthe disease.Food insecurity frequently places people, especially womenand girls, in situations that make them more vulnerableto transmission. It can lead to behaviors that have negativeconsequences, such as selling assets, removing children fromschool, migrating and engaging in transactional sex. Thesebehaviors exact a substantial price in the long term, includingincreased exposure to HIV. Mitigating food insecurity can,therefore, contribute to a reduction in the risk of transmission.All these elements highlight the importance of appropriatepolicy and programs to ensure the integration of food andnutrition in HIV and co-infection program design and implementation,with reference to the related reality that effectivefood and nutrition security programming must also beHIV-sensitive.All aspects of UNAIDS work are directed bythe following guiding principles:> aligned to national stakeholders’ priorities;> based on the meaningful and measurable involvement ofcivil society, especially people living with HIV andpopulations most at risk of HIV infection;> based on human rights and gender equality;> based on the best available scientific evidence andtechnical knowledge;> promoting comprehensive responses to AIDS that integrateprevention, treatment, care and support; and> based on the principle of non-discrimination.To access the UNAIDS Strategy 2011-2015, go towww.unaids.org/en/strategygoalsby2015/International Food Policy Research Institute– Making the Link between Agriculture07tritionEconomic growth, which many assume has a natural positiveimpact on nutritional status through increased incomes andfood expenditures, has not translated into improved nutritionin a number of developing countries. Considering this disconnect,IFPRI has released an important paper entitled “Thenexus between agriculture and nutrition – Do growth patternsand conditional factors matter?” This seeks to provide anoverview of the complex and dynamic relationship betweennutrition and growth, examine how different growthpatterns lead to different nutritional outcomes, and identifythe factors that influence the magnitude of this relationship.It aims to offer researchers insights on areas for future researchand analysis and to provide policymakers withknowledge regarding potential development strategies andinvestment policies that will increase the likelihood ofpositive nutritional outcomes.As globally we try to break down the individual silos thatnutrition and agriculture have built and functioned within,and in light of the growth of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN)movement, this paper is important. It will hopefully lead tomany meaningful discussions and, more importantly, agriculturalgrowth that leads not only to increased production andreduced poverty, but also to improved nutrition.The paper can be accessed at www.ifpri.org/publication/nexus-between-agriculture-and-nutrition-0