Collaboration with different partners in eradicating hunger and poverty is all the more pertinent in light of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. With the objective of joining forces to develop effective strategies to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS on rural livelihoods and food insecurity, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the World Food Programme (WFP) in coordination with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) organized a workshop with a wide array of stakeholders. Over 70 participants, from Ministries of Agriculture, government focal points for HIV/AIDS, United Nations and donor agencies, permanent representatives to FAO, academic research and non-governmental organizations working with food security and HIV/AIDS, civil society and womens groups representing people living with HIV/AIDS were invited to attend. This three day meeting took place at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy, in December 2001. The objectives of the meeting were:
to develop a common understanding of the impact of HIV/AIDS on rural livelihoods;
to identify innovative, gender-sensitive and participatory approaches to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS on agriculture, food security and rural poverty, based on current best practices;
to devise ways of integrating HIV-related concerns into current agricultural activities at national and district levels;
to identify interventions that will reduce the vulnerability of groups who are rendered vulnerable by the epidemic, such as the ultra-poor, widows and AIDS orphans.
This report reflects the contribution and discussions of the wide range of participants and builds upon work that has been developed over the past decade and within the FAO in the months following the meeting, with a focus towards putting some of the recommendations from the meeting into practice.