Recently a few vocal health experts have suggested that some of the billions of dollars currently used to prevent and treat HIV and AIDS be reallocated to address more basic problems such as malnutrition, tuberculosis, malaria, and enteric and diarrheal disease caused by lack of access to clean water. While not universally agreed upon, this reassessment of policy priorities acknowledges that there are multiple other health problems that deserve renewed attention from the international community. It also highlights the fact that the impacts of the HIV pandemic are exacerbated by widespread poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition, and gender inequality. Nowhere is this more evident than in sub-Saharan Africa, where multiple epidemics conflate and seriously compromise the survival of individuals and communities. Given the widespread occurrence of famine in sub-Saharan Africa, issues of food and economic security become of paramount importance in efforts to address the region's HIV epidemics. This paper examines the historical, political-economic, and cultural dimensions of the HIV epidemic in the context of the growing problem of food and economic insecurity. Furthermore, using theoretical frameworks that emphasize the dynamic interrelation between HIV/AIDS and food insecurity, we present suggestions for combining traditional HIV-prevention strategies with food production and nutritioneducation programming. In light of the complex interactions between HIV/AIDS and food insecurity and the lack of accessible treatment modalities, such programming could potentially reduce the risk for transmission of HIV through behavioural changes and improved nutritional and immune status, and increase the life expectancy of people living with HIV or AIDS.

Background Climate change poses a threat to the sustainability of food production among small-scale rural communities in Sub-Saharan Africa that are dependent on rain-fed agriculture. Understanding farmers’ adaptations and the determinants of their adaptation strategies is crucial in designing realistic strategies and policies for agricultural development and food security. The main objectives of this study were to identify the adaptation strategies used by smallholder farmers to counter the perceived negative effects of climate change in northern Uganda, and factors influencing the use of specific adaptation strategies. A cross-sectional survey research design was employed to collect data from 395 randomly selected smallholder farmers’ household heads across two districts by the administration of a semi-structured questionnaire. Binary logistic regression was used to analyze the factors influencing farmers’ adaptation to climate change. Results The three most widely practiced adaptation strategies were planting of different crop varieties, planting drought-resistant varieties, and fallowing. Results of the binary logit regression model revealed that marital status of household head, access to credit, access to extension services, and farm income influenced farmers’ adoption of planting drought-resistant varieties as an adaptation strategy while access to credit, annual farm income, and time taken to market influenced adoption of planting improved seeds. Gender of household head and farm income had a positive influence on farmers’ adoption of fertilizer and pesticide use. Farming experience, farm income, and access to extension services and credit influenced farmers’ adoption of tree planting. Household size, farming experience, and time taken to market had positive influence on the use of fallowing, while size of land cultivated significantly influenced farmers’ planting of different crop varieties as an adaptation strategy. Conclusion Findings of the study suggest there are several factors that work together to influence adoption of specific adaptation strategies by smallholder farmers. This therefore calls for more effort from government to strengthen the provision of agricultural extension services by improving its climate information system, providing recommended agricultural inputs and training farmers on best agronomic practices to enhance their holistic adaptation to the effect of climate change.

Inappropriate complementary feeding is an important challenge to proper child nutrition in post‐conflict rural areas in many sub‐Saharan African countries. While in protected areas during conflict situation and soon after during recovery, communities normally receive nutrition education as part of capacity building to improve knowledge, attitude, and practices to enable them manage maternal and child nutrition issues during the post‐conflict development phase. It is largely unknown whether capacity in nutrition provided is maintained and adequately applied in the post‐conflict development situation. Using Acholi sub‐region of Uganda, an area that experienced violent armed conflict for 20 years (mid‐80s–early 2000), as a case study, we examined the status of nutritional knowledge, attitude, and practices associated with complementary feeding among caregivers of 6‐ to 23‐month‐old children in a post‐conflict development phase following return to normalcy nearly 10 years post‐conflict emergency situation. The results showed that a high proportion of caregivers had good knowledge (88%) and attitude (90.1%) toward complementary feeding. However, only a half (50%) of them practiced correct nutrition behavior. Education status of the household head and sex of the child significantly predicted caregiver knowledge on complementary feeding (p ≤ 0.05). Education status of the household head also predicted caregiver attitude toward complementary feeding (p ≤ 0.05). Poverty, food insecurity, and maternal ill health were the major factors that hindered caregivers from practicing good complementary feeding behavior. These results demonstrate that nutrition education on complementary feeding provided to the community during conflict emergency and recovery situation is largely retained in terms of knowledge and attitude but poorly translated into good child feeding practices due to poverty, food insecurity, and maternal ill health. Maternal health, food security, and poverty reduction should be prioritized if adequate complementary feeding is to be achieved among conflict‐affected communities in the post‐conflict development phase.

The study determined the influence of sociocultural practices on food and nutrition security of children and women in Karamoja subregion, located in northeastern Uganda. Sixteen focus group discussions were conducted among 133 participants. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Findings indicate that cultural norms, myths, and taboos restrict consumption of animal-sourced foods and some green vegetables by women. Sociocultural practices promoted prelacteal feeding, affecting the implementation of World Health Organization's recommendations for exclusive breast feeding. In conclusion, sociocultural practices influence food and nutrition security, exposing women and children to the risk of malnutrition and associated consequences.

Culture is a strong determinant of food security through its influence on what society considers acceptable for consumption. Karamoja sub-region is one of the most ethnically diverse parts of eastern Africa, and is associated with the highest levels of food insecurity in Uganda. However, there is a general lack of understanding on the extent to which ethnicity is a contributing factor to food insecurity. We examined the relationship between ethnicity and food security in relation to commonly practiced cultural norms among the Jie, Karamojong and Tepeth ethnic groups of Karamoja. Data from 273 randomly selected households across a range of cultural settings were obtained using structured questionnaires in the September-October (2015) period. Food security status was assessed using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS), daily calorie intake and coping strategy index. The study also used focus group discussions to assess the implications for food security of common cultural practices. Results confirm the general observation that the sub-region is food insecure. There were also significant variations in food security across geographical location and ethnicity. Cultural restrictions, applied particularly to women and children, over the consumption of several nutritious foods from livestock were revealed. Consumption of raw milk and animal blood, potential sources of food-borne infections and thus of malnutrition, was found to be high in the sub-region and varied significantly across ethnicity. The findings provide a basis for interventions aimed at reducing food insecurity and averting cultural impediments to a more nutritious diet.