12 January 2004

Rome, Italy/Bonn, Germany: The UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is working together to intensify the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS virus in Africa.

WFP's mission to provide food and nutrition, combined with UNV's extensive experience in working with communities, government agencies and NGOs at the local level will bolster WFP's response to the global pandemic .

Under this initiative, the first group of 10 UN Volunteers have been deployed to assist WFP regional and country offices in the areas of programming, nutrition, and monitoring and evaluation.

In November 2003, Ms. Fanny Yago-Wienne of France was the first UN volunteer to be deployed under this joint initiative. Working as a Monitoring & Evaluation Officer in the WFP regional office in Burkina Faso, she updates and maintains a database on gender and food security for the country, and applies the information gathered to vulnerability maps. The remaining volunteers were deployed to other countries in Africa: Angola, Niger, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Cameroon, Mozambique and Swaziland. Haiti and Myanmar are the only nations outside Africa to receive volunteers.

One such programme provides food aid to families whose breadwinner has contracted the disease. By guaranteeing the food security of affected families, the breadwinner can remain productive longer. This eases financial pressures, which, without such aid, could force the family to sell assets to purchase food. Good nutrition is also important for patients to allow their medical treatment without interruption.

WFP’s attempts to lessen the impact of the HIV/AIDS on communities, includes efforts to improve food security and to secure the livelihoods of those affected. WFP has jump-started new activities, such as designing a monitoring and evaluation system, which will lead to the expansion of current HIV/AIDS initiatives, including support for orphans.

HIV/AIDS is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. Sub-Saharan Africa is the most affected region, but other regions, including South Asia, the Confederation of Independent States (CIS) and the Caribbean, are experiencing rapid increases in the incidence of HIV/AIDS.