The chair started off the session by linking the session topic to the theme of the conference, Universal Access. Under that banner fall a number of HIV/AIDS related issues. One such issue is food security and nutrition in resource poor settings. There is a crucial need for nutritional support, food and water for the optimal function of ART, she claimed. This panel presented some ways of increasing access and delivery of nutritional support through pilot projects and partnerships with food and agricultural organiztions.

Nigel Rollins began his presentation by discussing the detrimental combination of HIV/AIDS and food insecurity. He explained that secondary effects of the AIDS epidemic on food security, famine and nutrition could be as great as the primary effects. In South Africa, the drought and food crisis further complicates the AIDS epidemic as most people depend on agriculture. Rollins described that farmers with HIV are especially vulnerable because they are forced to liquidate assets for treatment. The limited food and the limited food quality also increase vulnerability for infectious and opportunistic diseases. HIV has a direct effect on nutritional status and nutrition has a direct effect on immune function. He recommends that in countries where food insecurity is dire, nutritional assessments should be routine and ART adherence should be looked at as an additional rationale to alleviate hunger. Mitigating food insecurity may decrease HIV transmission risks overall

Christine Nabiryo of Uganda presented a pilot project of TASO. Initially TASO was formed to combat the larger AIDS epidemic, but the clients and members of TASO have emphasized that food and nutrition needs are most important. This led to a major focus on nutrition security and livelihood within TASO programming. The method that they used to respond to food insecurity was through partnerships with organizations such as the World Food Programme and other livelihood focused groups. This focus allows them to complement the national health system in the fight against AIDS. Nabiryo recommended: (1) the need for sustainable livelihood initiatives in the comprehensive care plan for people with AIDS and (2) a need for more UN organizations to partner with NGOs in order to combat food insecurity and micronutrient deficiencies.

L.Chescire of Kenya carried out a project called AMPATH. In this project, nutritional packages are created for peoples on ARVs for a sustained period of time. This is done in order to compare the effect of food sufficiency with a group that did not receive food packages. He found that nutritional support allows patients who start out with relatively lower CD4 and BMI to “catch up” with other patients that do not suffer from food insecurity and micronutrient deficiencies after 9-12 months of HAART, while people that do not receive extra nutrition are more vulnerable to infection. Chescire made the recommendation that nutrition assessment, education and counseling, specialized food prescription and food distribution need to be better carried out by community based groups and government.  

One theme that was generally agreed upon was that hunger and nutritional deficiencies can be conquered, but only if poverty is addressed simultaneously. Along these lines, there was a question asked about what could be done for urban poor that suffer from food insecurity and different micronutrient deficiencies. It seems that there is little research conducted on this at the moment, but it is necessary to study urban centres in areas of high HIV/AIDS prevalence.