HIV/AIDS and Agriculture

HIV/AIDS is a global catastrophe, affecting every sector of society, and agriculture is no exception. FAO estimates that 7 million agricultural workers have died of AIDS worldwide, without counting those debilitated by the disease or impoverished by the loss of labor. 

It is estimated that 25 million Africans are already infected with HIV. Most of those are in the 'prime' of their lives, in the age group 15 to 49 years old – the main labor force of agricultural economies.

As the largest employer in Africa, agriculture is particularly affected. The labor force is severely impaired because of death and debilitation of working-age people. Farming families suffer from loss of labor and subsequent loss of income; the poorest find it difficult to produce enough food to subsist on.

SWIHA - The CGIAR HIV/AIDS Initiative

The response of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) to the HIV/AIDS pandemic has been to launch the Systemwide Initiative on HIV/AIDS and Agriculture (SWIHA) to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS on food security, nutrition, and economic development through agricultural research and development. WARDA – The Africa Rice Center, which is supported by CGIAR, is playing a lead role in this Initiative, which includes 13 CGIAR Centers and the Systemwide Program on Gender and Diversity. Linkages between HIV/AIDS and food security and rural livelihood are being ascertained with a view to establishing recommendations that will be considered by agriculture and public health institutions.

SWIHA exist in an umbrella project module, wherein interested CGIAR centers and their partners develop and implement projects that are complementary and that make the most effective use of center resources. 

In West and Central Africa, WARDA collaborates with governmental and non-governmental organizations on the ground, including the UNAIDS Inter-Country Team for West and Central Africa (UNAIDS-ICT/WCA), and the Commonwealth of Learning in Vancouver, Canada, and other partners. One main challenge is in creating awareness not on HIV/AIDS but on the fact those institutions in agriculture, rural development, rural youths employment etc are important and they could play a role in the collective effort to mitigate the further spread of the disease. WARDA aims to build on these gains by generating and enable a willingness to act against HIV/AIDS from inside out. WARDA’s HIV/AIDS program also includes protective measures for the Workforce across all WARDA stations. 

The CGIAR Gender and Diversity Program (G&D) supports the 16 Future Harvest Centers in their implementation of policies and strategies for fair and compassionate handling of HIV/AIDS in the workplace. For the system, G&D developed model HIV/Aids organizational practices as well as updates on the availability and pricing of anti-retrovirals in the countries where the CGIAR is located. (See G&D Working Papers). Also visit G&D's cybrary for best links on HIV/Aids-workplace issues. G&D also promotes such activities as diversity-positive recruitment, international teamwork, cross-cultural communications and advancement for women. For more information, please see G&D website.

The examples above are not exhaustive of HIV/AIDS activities within CGIAR centers.