[pronut-hiv] Zambia: Rural Areas in Africa Are Vulnerable to Food Insecurity, HIV Stigma

["ProNut-HIV" <pronut-hiv@healthnet.org>]

Zambia: Rural Areas in Africa Are Vulnerable to Food Insecurity, HIV
Stigma
The Post (Lusaka)

May 11, 2006
Lambwe Kachali
Lusaka

IT is important for African governments to consider rural social
programmes to overcome poverty and stigma at household level, Kenya AIDS
Intervention Prevention Project executive director James Onyango has
said.

During the ongoing Africa Forum at Taj Pamodzi Hotel yesterday, Onyango
observed that rural areas in most African countries were more vulnerable
to food insecurity and stigma associated with HIV/AIDS.

"It is rather sad in some parts of Kenya whereby you find people
exchanging sex for fish as the only way of their survival," Onyango
said. "Livelihood has become so difficult as many people in most rural
parts of Africa are unable to access programmes that could minimise
their daily sufferings."

Onyango said it was important for governments across Africa to
subsidies Non-Governmental Organisations and other entities that address
underlying causes of household vulnerability by supporting and
strengthening development of enabling policies to help vulnerable
people.

"In Kenya, our organisation's goal is to improve rural households to
cope up with shocks and stresses, especially given the increasing impact
of HIV/AIDS," he said. Onyango said HIV/AIDS had created an additional
and heavy impact on the African soil.