International Conference on HIV/AIDS, Food and Nutrition Security

The HIV/AIDS pandemic is a global crisis with impacts that will be felt for decades to come. In 2003, HIV/AIDS killed 2.9 million people and an estimated 4.8 million became infected -bringing to 38 million the number of people living with the virus around the world. Nearly 25 million of these people live in Sub-Saharan Africa, where over 12 million children have lost one or both parents to AIDS. The situation is becoming increasingly serious in other parts of the world too, notably Central and South Asia. By the end of 2003 over 5 million people in India alone were estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS.

Against this backdrop, HIV/AIDS and food and nutrition insecurity are becoming increasingly entwined in a vicious cycle. Food insecurity heightens susceptibility to HIV exposure and infection, while HIV/AIDS in turn heightens vulnerability to food insecurity.

There has been a major upsurge in research in this area in recent years, though knowledge gaps remain. We have now arrived at a watershed. Researchers and practitioners urgently need to collectively review what has been learnt, and what this means for future policy and programming in areas where HIV/AIDS and food insecurity co-exist.

In order to do this, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), with the active involvement of the partners, is organizing this international conference.