title: Promoting food security and well-being among poor and HIV/AIDS affected households: lessons from an interactive and integrated approach.
abstract: Participatory and interdisciplinary approaches have been suggested to develop appropriate agricultural innovations as an alternative strategy to improve food security and well-being among HIV/AIDS affected households. However, sustainable implementation of such interactive approaches is far from easy and straight forward. This study reports of the Interactive Learning and Action (ILA) approach, a methodology for agricultural innovation which has been adapted to the context of HIV/AIDS. Role players in agriculture and health were brought together to stimulate and sustain innovation among three support groups for poor and affected households in a rural high HIV/AIDS prevalence area in South Africa. The effectiveness of the approach was evaluated using both outcome and process criteria. The results indicate that an interactive approach in which service providers/researchers engage themselves as actors to explore the livelihood system and develop appropriate solutions in joint collaboration with resource users has potential. However, it also revealed that cooperation among participants and stakeholders at the interface of agriculture and HIV/AIDS is complicated and sensitive to erosion. Of particular concern was the difficulty of mobilizing members from poor and affected households to participate and to overcome stigma and discrimination. Lessons and potential applications for the further development of interactive approaches are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Athena Institute for Research on Innovation and Communication in Health and Life Sciences, Faculty of Earth- and Life Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands. k.swaans@gmail.com
authors.forename: Kees
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Swaans
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Broerse
authors.forename: Maylin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Meincke
authors.forename: Maxwell
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mudhara
authors.forename: Joske
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bunders
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000383:Agriculture / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000191:economics / Q000600:supply & distribution; D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D005523:Food Supply / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards*; D006126:Group Processes; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011203:Poverty; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000379:methods; D012657:Self-Help Groups; D013019:South Africa; D014837:Voluntary Health Agencies; D055815:Young Adult