title: The Impact of Food Assistance on Dietary Diversity and Food Consumption among People Living with HIV/AIDS.
abstract: Little is known about the outcomes of food assistance targeted to food insecure people living with HIV/AIDS. Using primary data from Zambia, we estimated the impact of food assistance on the dietary diversity and consumption expenditures of households with HIV infected members receiving antiretroviral therapy. Propensity score matching estimates show that food assistance increased dietary diversity by 9.8 points (23%) mainly through the consumption of food items provided in the ration. Food assistance recipients were 20% points more likely to have acceptable food consumption and 15% points less likely to have poor food consumption than non-recipients. Food assistance also increased food consumption expenditures but had no significant impact on food purchases and total consumption expenditures. Overall, our findings demonstrate that food assistance can be an effective instrument for improving diets and enhancing the food security of people living with HIV/AIDS.
authors.affiliation: UNU-MERIT, United Nations University, Boschstraat 24, 6211 AX, Maastricht, The Netherlands. tirivayi@merit.unu.edu.
authors.forename: Nyasha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tirivayi
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Services Research, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Wim
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Groot
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; D000328:Adult; D004032:Diet; D005191:Family Characteristics; D063105:Food Assistance; D005523:Food Supply; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009752:Nutritional Status; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D015024:Zambia
keywords: Dietary diversity; Food assistance; Food consumption; HIV/AIDS; Zambia