Newsletter: Severe food crisis as HIV affected households fail to meet minimum calorie requirements in Namibia

Regional Trends 

The newsletter is based on a study entitled The Impact of HIV and AIDS on Rural Agricultural Producers in Three Regions of Namibia by Dr. Ben Fuller and Deon van Zyl of the Namibian Economic Policy Research Unit. This study was commissioned by the Food and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) in Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. In all countries studied, the threat of the HIV epidemic to household food security was confirmed regardless of the agro-ecological zone or farming system followed. The pervasive nature of the regular hunger found serves as a grim warning to policy makers on the depth and extent of this new type of food crisis.