United action needed to meet nutritional needs of children affected by HIV

[Guest guest]

United action needed to meet nutritional needs of Children infected and affected

by HIV

All agencies currently integrating nutrition in their HIV/AIDS programmes for

children in India should synergise and collaborate on related-research and

advocacy, was the consensus emerged out of an academic meeting on " understanding

the effects of nutrition on HIV infected and affected children in CHAHA " , which

was organised by the India HIV/AIDS Alliance in New Delhi, India on 22 May 2009.

There are no India-specific guidelines on nutrition and HIV/AIDS (for specific

communities and contexts), not sufficient research-backed evidence on

nutritional interventions in India, and lack of coordinated advocacy on this

issue at all levels (from local to national), were some of the prominent

challenges emerged out of this meeting.

This academic meeting had brought together more than 50 different stakeholders

from across India, including and not limited to, government agencies dealing

with HIV/AIDS and also those with nutrition, non-governmental organizations that

are currently implementing nutritional interventions along with their HIV/AIDS

programmes, Research institutions, UN agencies and representatives from networks

of people living with HIV in India.

According to 2007 estimates from the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO),

70,000 children below the age of 15 are living with HIV in India and 21,000

children are infected every year through parent-to-child transmission.

National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) needs to harmonise on meeting

nutritional needs of people living with HIV (PLHIV), particularly children, with

the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) of Ministry of Women and Child

Development (WCD). The ICDS was launched in 1975 seeking to provide an

integrated package of services in a convergent manner for the holistic

development of the child.

There are many initiatives that are addressing the nutritional needs of children

infected and affected by HIV and their families in India. This includes CHAHA

project, which is managed by the India HIV/AIDS Alliance in four states – Andhra

Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Manipur. Comprehensive package of services

are provided to children infected and affected by HIV including supplementary

nutrition through this project.TCHAHA project is supported by the grant from the

Round 6 of the Global Fund to Fight against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

(GFATM), of which the India HIV/AIDS Alliance is a civil society Principal

Recipient, and its consortium of 9 organisations are the Sub-Recipients.

Other initiatives that are addressing the nutritional needs of children infected

and affected by HIV and their families in India include the 'Balasahayoga',

implemented by a consortium – FHI, CARE and Clinton Foundation in Andhra

Pradesh. Psychological, safety net, nutrition, education and health are some of

the components of Balasahayoga aimed to improve the quality of life of children

and families infected and affected by HIV.

Among other similar initiatives, was the Tamil Nadu Family Care Continuum

programme (TNFCCP) which was initiated in the state of Tamil Nadu by Tamil Nadu

State AIDS Control Society with support from the Children's Investment Fund

Foundation (CIFF) in September 2005.

It had three key components: Clinical services component (setting was hospital,

and provided medical examination, CD4, lab test, psychological counseling,

referrals to clinical services like TB), nutrition component (nutritional

counseling, micro nutrient, macro nutrient) and Home-based care component (home

visits, focus on nutrition counseling and adherence to nutrition supplements).

There was a strong agreement amongst all attending stakeholders in this meeting

to unite for optimally using the resources and enhancing the impact of

interventions for the people living with HIV including children.

It was recommended by one of the participants that a regular follow-up

action-oriented meeting be held for sharing of experiences and lessons learnt

bringing together all the partners working on nutritional interventions for

children infected and affected by HIV and their families in India, to advance

the research agenda and unite for the advocacy at all levels.

Padma Buggineni

Programme Manager - Policy

India HIV/AIDS Alliance

pbuggineni@...