My final day

This is a day that has been full of education for me. The message that came across most strongly for me is that there is resources within ourselves to improve on the food security and nutrition needs within our society. We can also improve on the social support and care of our constituents who are living with or are affected by HIV/AIDS.

The brief speech made by Dr. Lydia Mungherera of Uganda summed this up in not too many words. She spoke of her own experience and how she had been sent home to die. Her mother took it upon herself to find books on nutrition and in in her words "Put her cooking pots together and began preparing healthy meals for her". This reminds us that in most parts of Africa healthy foods grow around us but as Princess Kasure of Zambia put it "Ordinary people do not know what a good nutrition is". Is this a wake up call for all of us on the ground? YES. Let us educate our constituents on what is nutrionally good for them that is locally available and stop waiting for international aid and supplements.

Dr. Mungherera said she is well today because of her mothers cooking, the palliative care she received and the social support of her loved ones. This is something our own home based care providers can help provide given proper guidance and training.

I feel a great call for all of us on the ground to put in greater efforts in holding our governments accountable on delivery of services because the Joint UN Action Team works with our governments. The question is how many of our governments are as aware of the situation on the ground as we in the Civil society are? Are they aware that there is a gap in decisions reached in meetings such as this one and delivery of the promises made? As Princess Kasure aptly put it "People living with HIV/AIDS cannot continue to live on promises".

I go back home tomorrow determined to make a difference through advocacy and education. I want my sisters and brothers to know that we can find good nutrition locally and that palliative care and social support plays a great part in bringing healing and improved quality of life to all living with HIV. Empowering my constituents to know that they can help themselves instead of helplessly waiting for aid will bring a light at the end of the tunnel. I go home to take a message of hope and strength and help fight for proper delivery of services and government accountability. This is so these meetings will not just be meetings but will make a difference in the lives of our constituents through us who get the wonderful opportunity to attend them.

Shukria's last day

The day was really productive with discussions concerning food security, nutrition and HIV & AIDS. All the participants agreed that ensuring food security at family and community levels were important. Women and girls particularly, who are mostly infected and affected by HIV are more stigmatized by HIV and are not considered significant individuals especially in developing countries where no preference is given to their essential nutrition needs.

Less funding is available to meet the nutritional requirements of People living with HIV and their families throughout the world. Global Fund provides this support to the governments of different countries.

An inspiring case study of an HIV+ person from Africa was also discussed whose CD 4 count was only 1. Proper and good nutrition in addition to ARVs helped her to survive. Her mother also played a very critical role in motivating her and providing her with the timely nutritional intake.

It is always pleasant to see donor commitments at big forums, however when it comes to implementation countries are met with many challenges due to the lack of funds and political leaders not fulfilling those commitments for the HIV+ community. It was pointed out that favoritism and personal relationships are preferred in comparison to selection on merit especially in developing countries with regards to resource distribution. These are the issues which really need to be addressed appropriately.

Discussions were carried out on strengthening the agricultural sector since it is very important to market the sector as sustainable and can be strengthened to contribute to timely and proper nutritional items for people living with HIV and their families.

There is a lot of stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV therefore joint efforts from civil society organizations, governments and communities are required to rise above this. UNAIDS and Governments primary focus should be on policies for HIV+ people and a strategy for the implementation of the commitments for Universal Access to Treatment, Prevention, Care and Support. Furthermore, there is a great need for evidence based research on the impact of nutrition for people living with HIV in order to meet their appropriate nutritional needs and to ensure that food and nutrition elements are fully integrated into HIV programming and to ensure quality services delivery.