title: Using people to cope with the hunger: social networks and food transfers amongst HIV/AIDS afflicted households in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
abstract: Household afflicted by HIV/AIDS are particularly prone to food insecurity. This article explores the role of community networks in meeting household food deficits. One hundred households exhibiting a range (0-5) of HIV/AIDS proxies related to orphan fostering, prime adult chronic illness and mortality were visited at quarterly intervals for a year. At each assessment, donated food types consumed in the past 48 h were recorded, and household food security was monitored through an experiential measure. Factors determining access to donated foods were explored qualitatively by means of participant observation and semi-structured interviews. Poor households with prime adult chronic illness were prone to food insecurity, and used the most donated foods. However, not all households perceived to be afflicted with HIV/AIDS were able to access donated foods due to stigma and social exclusion. Concerted action must be taken by government, non-government and community agents if social food transfer networks are to be transformed into coordinated community action.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa. s.kaschula@gmail.com
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kaschula
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D019058:Community Networks; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005523:Food Supply; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000191:economics / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D006815:Hunger; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008875:Middle Aged; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012424:Rural Population; D057545:Social Stigma; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013019:South Africa; D013240:Stereotyping; D055815:Young Adult