Africa Rice Center (WARDA)

Announces

SWIHA Regional workshop on HIV/AIDS and Agriculture: 
Implications for food security in West and Central Africa

Cotonou-Benin
July 18-20, 2005

Call for Abstracts

Introduction:

The HIV/AIDS pandemic is a global crisis with impacts that will be felt for decades to come. The pandemic is no longer just a health problem for the world but has become a major threat to all economic, social and political development. Sub-Saharan Africa is the region worst hit by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, which is depleting the continent of its food producers, cutting food production and generating a spiral of acute poverty. In 2003, UNAIDS estimated that HIV/AIDS had killed 2.9 million people while 4.8 million became infected, bringing to 38 million the number of people living with the virus worldwide. Nearly 25 million of these people live in sub-Saharan Africa, where over 12 million children have lost one or both parents to AIDS.

This workshop provides an opportunity to all stakeholders to share in the rapidly expanding body of research and operational experience in this area, which can serve as a platform for strengthened future collaborations. It will also deepen understanding of the interactions between health, HIV/AIDS, agriculture and food security.

Objectives of the workshop:

• Assess interactions between HIV/AIDS, agriculture, nutrition and food security;

• Bring together professionals from all sectors to share research on past experience, on what works and what does not work in HIV/AIDS management;

• Develop mechanisms and processes for addressing policy and programs

• Compare lessons learned from East and Southern Africa and their transferability to West and Central Africa (WCA);

• Forge partnerships with national and international agencies that are involved in HIV/AIDS, agriculture, food security and nutrition;

• Develop proposals for fund raising.

The expected abstracts should be based on the following sessions:

Session 1: Opening ceremony and keynote address

One keynote address, to be delivered by a prominent researcher or policy maker involved in activities addressing the interactions between HIV/AIDS, nutrition and agriculture, will set out the major themes of this workshop. Other papers will highlight the interactions between HIV/AIDS, agriculture and food security in general and in West and Central Africa (WCA) in particular. This session will also address the linkages between major crisis and conflicts in the region and how this is speeding up the spread of HIV/AIDS and the impact of the pandemic on different social strata. Concrete examples from Africa about the interactions between HIV/AIDS, agriculture, nutrition and food security will be cited.

Session 2: Research experiences and actions to combat HIV/AIDS impact on agriculture

In this section, research outputs/empirical studies or actions/activities to alleviate the impact of HIV/AIDS on agriculture, particularly in rural areas, will be presented. Questions to be addressed include:

• What types of management strategies for HIV/AIDS have been successful in rural areas in Eastern and Southern Africa?

• Which of these experiences can be “scaled out” to West and Central Africa?

• What are the social and cultural barriers that inhibit prevention efforts in WCA?

• How can we assess HIV/AIDS impact on rural livelihoods and food security?

Session 3: Policy and Outcomes at regional and country levels

• How can agriculture and nutrition research contribute to mitigate the effect on HIV/AIDS affected persons?

• Which policies/programs can be directly beneficial in mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS on agriculture?

• What are the capacity needs for combating HIV/AIDS and its effects on rural livelihoods in the subregion?

Session 4: Mapping out strategies to mitigate impacts of HIV/AIDS on agriculture

This breakout session will develop a framework for action, deploying researchers and practitioners to combat HIV/AIDS effects on agriculture and developing platforms for rural HIV/AIDS mitigation advocacy. It will also develop a prioritised research agenda and develop a fundraising mechanism to source funds for implementing the identified research.

Call for abstracts and participants

Although a significant number of participants will be invited, others intending to attend the workshop should register through the SWIHA Coordinator (a.kormawa@cgiar.org) not later than May 30, 2005. Limited sponsorship is available to those participants from national institutions in WCA whose abstracts and full papers/posters are accepted for presentation at the workshop. All abstracts must be received not later than May 30. Full papers of accepted abstracts must be received not later than June 15, 2005.

Guidelines for abstracts

Abstracts MUST be between 250 and 350 words, typewritten in single spacing. Title must be written in Bold followed on next line by a list of author(s) and their affiliations, including email contacts.

Contact:

Annmarie Kormawa
SWIHA Coordinator
Africa Rice Center (WARDA)
01 B.P.2031, Cotonou, Benin
Tel (229) 35 01 88;Fax (229) 35 05 56
E-mail: a.kormawa@cgiar.org
Website: http://www.warda.org/swiha/