International Conference on HIV/AIDS, Food and Nutrition Security
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14-16 April, 2005
Durban, South Africa
Call for Abstracts
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 mil-
lion people and an estimated 4.8 million became infected �
bringing to 38 million the number of people living with the vi-
rus 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 insecu-
rity are becoming increasingly entwined in a vicious cycle. Food
insecurity heightens susceptibility to HIV exposure and infec-
tion, while HIV/AIDS in turn heightens vulnerability to food in-
security.
There has been a major upsurge in research in this area in re-
cent years, though knowledge gaps remain. We have now arrived at
a watershed. Researchers and practitioners urgently need to col-
lectively 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 In-
stitute (IFPRI), with the active involvement of the partners
listed below, is organizing this international conference.
Goal of the conference
To stimulate more effective, large-scale action that addresses
the links between HIV/AIDS and food and nutrition insecurity.
Objectives of the conference
1. Enhance learning about the interactions between HIV/AIDS,
food and nutrition security;
2. Enhance learning about the types of policies, programs or in-
terventions that may effectively address these interactions, un-
der different conditions;
3. Develop tools, mechanisms, guidelines and processes for en-
suring the relevance and effectiveness of food and nutrition
policy in the face of HIV/AIDS;
4. Forge links a) between African organizations and those in
other regions where HIV prevalences are rising, especially Asia;
b) between different sectors (particularly public health and ag-
riculture) and c) between humanitarian and development perspec-
tives and actors in this area.
The emphasis is thus on learning how agricultural and other ru-
ral livelihood systems, policies and programs can contribute --
first, to reducing people�s risk of being exposed to the virus,
and second, to strengthening their resilience in the face of its
impacts. The primary focus will be on household and community
level dynamics and what these mean for institutions, policies
and programs.
Prior to this conference the World Health Organization (WHO) and
partners will be holding a Technical Consultation on Nutrition
and HIV/AIDS in Africa at the same venue. The two conferences
are complementary in their scope and organizers are working to-
gether to maximize synergies. It is hoped that stronger links
will thus be forged between those working on individual-level
nutritional aspects of HIV/AIDS and those focusing at the
broader level of household and community level food and nutri-
tion security.
Focus
The conference will provide a forum for scholars and practitio-
ners to share and present research and operational experience.
It will feature several different types of session including
keynote papers, a methods workshop, an open forum as well as the
presentation of selected papers submitted in response to this
Call for Abstracts. The Call has three main themes as follows:
Theme 1: Interactions (25%)
What is known about the interactions between agriculture and
other rural livelihood systems and a) the spread of HIV and/or
b) the impacts of HIV/AIDS at different levels?
Theme 2: Local responses (35%)
What is known about the capacities and strategies of households
and communities to a) reduce infection risk and b) to respond
effectively to the impacts of HIV/AIDS? What do these strategies
imply for the types of support needed from governments, civil
society, the private sector and international agencies?
Theme 3: Policies, programs, interventions (40%)
What is known about the processes and impacts of food and nutri-
tion-relevant policies, programs or interventions that have
sought to prevent the spread of HIV and/or mitigate the impacts
of HIV/AIDS?
Interested researchers and practitioners should submit abstracts
specifically relating to one of these themes. Interdisciplinary
and operational research is encouraged, as are examples of inno-
vations, so long as these are well documented. The percentage
weightings applied to each theme reflect the balance to be ap-
plied in the conference itself.
Research that addresses the following questions is also encouraged:
* how to assess vulnerability in the context of HIV/AIDS?
* how to ensure the food and nutrition security of particularly
vulnerable groups (e.g. orphans and vulnerable children, female-
headed and elderly-headed households)?
* how to link short term (e.g. targeted food aid to address
acute food insecurity of affected households) with longer term
livelihood-oriented approaches?
* how to effectively scale up from small-scale innovations to
maximize impact?
* how to ensure sustainability in an environment of eroding ca-
pacity?
* how can policy be made more HIV-responsive for those affected
by HIV/AIDS without having significant opportunity costs for
those not affected?
* what can Asia learn from Africa, and vice versa?
Partners
IFPRI is collaborating with a range of partners in shaping the
format and content of this conference. These include the follow-
ing: FAO, WFP, UNAIDS, RENEWAL, UNICEF, UNDP, WHO, SCN, USAID,
WARDA, ICRISAT, ICRAF, the Partnership to Cut Hunger and Poverty
in Africa, CARE International, Micronutrient Initiative, Rocke-
feller Foundation, University of Natal and Michigan State Uni-
versity.
Submitting an abstract
Abstracts conforming to the guidelines below may be submitted
for oral presentation or poster. Presenters of accepted ab-
stracts will be informed of the date, time and mode (oral or
poster) of presentation three months prior to the Conference.
Abstract submission is limited to one per first presenting au-
thor and only unpublished work should be submitted. All ab-
stracts must be submitted electronically in English. They will
be published as received so please check typing. Please use Word
97 or higher; Arial font size 11, with single-spaced text. The
whole abstract must not be longer than 300 words including ti-
tle, designation, etc. Type the title in CAPITAL LETTERS, fol-
lowed by the name(s) of the author(s). Underline the presenting
author. Initials must precede the surname. Include the affilia-
tion of all the authors. Leave a one-line space between the au-
thor's institution and the beginning of the text. The abstract
should clearly state objectives, scope, methodology, results,
conclusions and any recommendations. No illustrations or refer-
ences may be included. Please indicate the specific theme number
(1-3) in your submission. Details regarding the requirements and
set-up of posters will be communicated later to successful ap-
plicants.
All abstracts received by the deadline will be reviewed by a se-
lection panel comprising representatives of the UN, CGIAR, NGO
and academic communities. Funds are available to support the
travel and accommodation of one presenter per selected abstract,
depending on their institutional affiliation. Papers presented
at the conference will be published with wide international dis-
tribution. Abstracts that are not selected for presentation as a
paper will be considered for publication in the proceedings.
Deadlines
Submission of abstract: 14 December 2004.
Notification of decision: 14 January 2005
Receipt of completed papers: 14 March 2005
Contacts:
Stuart Gillespie, PhD
Senior Research Fellow
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
2033 K Street, NW
Washington DC 20006-1002, USA
Tel. +1-202-862-5638
Fax: +1-202-467-4439
mailto:s.gillespie@cgiar.org
http://www.ifpri.org
Please e-mail abstracts to
Ginette Mignot, IFPRI
mailto:g.mignot@cgiar.org