Food distribution provides opportunity for HIV training

Through a partnership with the World Food Program (WFP) and the Namibia Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare, local Namibia NGO Catholic AIDS Action (CAA) has distributed 5,505,644 metric tons of food to over 45,000 orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in FY07 in the Oshana, Omusati, and Kavango regions. The value of this food is US$280.00 per metric ton, or US$1,541,580.00 for the project year. 

WFP provides support for additional staff and supervision of the food distribution, but the program relies heavily on the infrastructure and capacity building provided to CAA through PEPFAR via a subaward from Pact. USG support enables Catholic AIDS Action to train and supervise a network of 1,500 HIV community volunteers across Namibia. These volunteers provide home based care services and link and support orphans and vulnerable children in their communities. The community volunteers are responsible for identifying the recipients of WFP food aid and establishing the food distribution points. Without this strong cadre of volunteers maintained with U.S. government support, CAA would have been unable to distribute such a large volume of food for such a great number of beneficiaries.

HIV programs have been brought to the distribution points. Because there are frequently unforeseen delays of food delivery trucks due to rural nature of the distribution route throughout the region, food aid recipients and their families sometimes must wait at distribution points. Having observed an opportunity, CAA, in collaboration with Ministry of Health and Social Services (MOHSS) nutrition personnel, developed an HIV training curriculum for the beneficiaries of the food distribution program. 

From July 9-13 2007, thirteen key CAA staff and lead volunteers were trained as trainers to implement the curriculum to beneficiaries waiting for the food trucks to arrive. Topics include nutrition and HIV, child and infant nutrition, food and water safety, local foods and nutrition, food availability and food security.  While volunteers are waiting for the food distribution trucks to arrive, CAA staff provide trainings in HIV to beneficiaries on basic nutrition for children and those affected by HIV.  This assists in maximizing the nutritional benefits of the distributed food as well as other available resources. Now, while beneficiaries wait for trucks, food and nutrition education for HIV infected and affected families continues.