Nutrition and HIV/AIDS: A Training Manual - Linkages Project

Nutritional care and support of people living with HIV/AIDS depends on theavailability, accessibility, and utilization of food, which in turn are affected byexternal, internal, and household social, economic, and cultural factors.Availability, access, and utilization (slides 5, 6)USAID (1992) defines food security as a situation in which “…all people at all timeshave both physical and economic access to sufficient food to meet their dietaryneeds for a productive and healthy life.” Achieving food security requires sufficientphysical supplies of food, adequate household access to these food supplies, andappropriate use of food to meet people’s specific dietary needs. The USAIDdefinition involves three distinct but interrelated aspects of food security: foodavailability, food access, and food utilization (slide 7).Food availability is achieved when sufficient quantities of food are consistentlyavailable to all people in a country or region. Such food can be supplied throughhousehold production, other domestic output, commercial imports, or foodassistance.Food access is ensured when households and all people in them have adequateresources to obtain appropriate foods for a nutritious diet. Access depends onincome available to the household, the distribution of income within the household,and the price of food.Food utilization is the proper biological use of food, which requires potable water,adequate sanitation, a diet that provides sufficient energy and essential nutrients,and knowledge within the household of food storage and processing techniques,basic principles of nutrition and proper child care, and illness management (USAID1999; Bonnard et al 2002).Similar definitions of food security and conceptual frameworks have been developedby other agencies. 1 Information in this session is organized using the USAIDdefinition.69