by Risco Lumamezi in Katima Mulilo
Charity Silangani is a tall 38-year
old woman, who lives in the Choi village of the Caprivi region in north-eastern
Namibia.
"I tested HIV positive in 2003 and have been a beneficiary of the Namibia Red Cross Mapilelo project since 2004," she says, standing in her vegetable garden.
Mapilelo, or "place of survival", is a Red Cross project that helps people who are receiving antiretroviral drug therapy provided by the Namibian government. People in the Mapilelo project receive a monthly food parcel with maize meal, cooking oil, dry beans, sugar and canned fish for the first six months of the project. After that, Mapilelo runs long term, income generating activities that sustain the nutrition of people who are living with HIV/AIDS and taking antiretroviral medicines.
"I really appreciate the income generating work such as vegetable gardens, as I was stranded when the food parcels stopped. But now I can grow my own food and buy my own soaps and other necessities," Charity adds.
Thirty eight percent of the population of the Caprivi region is under 15 years of age and the region has the highest HIV prevalence rate in the country, with 42 percent of pregnant women testing positive for HIV in 2004.
In 2003, the Namibia Red Cross launched a cross-border home based care project with the Red Cross Societies of Botswana and Zambia. The Caprivi regional office also provides voluntary counselling and testing services to complement its other HIV initiatives.
Currently about 500 clients on antiretroviral therapy or getting treatment for tuberculosis get food parcels and donations through the Mapilelo project.
With support from the Spanish Red Cross, a long-term food security component is being added to Mapilelo.
Namibia Red Cross national empowerment coordinator Rosemary Nalisa, helps communities and people with HIV or AIDS generate incomes so they can be more independent. She says the Red Cross has selected four communities in the Caprivi region to start income generating projects.
"Recently, 21 participants from the rural areas of the Caprivi region attended a training workshop on income generation. Red Cross volunteers from the four communities are working with the Ministries of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, Fisheries and Environment to start tourism, poultry, gardening and fish farming activities," she adds.
This year, the Caprivi region is one of the regions in Namibia hardest hit by food insecurity. Recurrent drought and floods make inhabitants of the region, who are already vulnerable because of poverty and disease, even more prone to hunger.
With hunger creeping across Namibia, the Red Cross will expand the food component of its Mapilelo project. Namibia is one of seven countries in an emergency appeal launched by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to address the food crisis in Southern Africa.
The food crisis operation will reinforce coping mechanisms and reduce hunger and vulnerability by building on existing initiatives, like home based care, and addressing the underlying causes of vulnerability such as poverty and gender inequality. In particular, the operation will focus on reducing vulnerability for people living with HIV/AIDS and orphans.
Under the food security operation, in Namibia, 69, 000 people will be targeted, of whom 45,000 will receive food. The remainder will receive agricultural starter packs, irrigation kits and hygiene education.
Namibia Red Cross Society Caprivi regional manager Polly Helmut emphasised the importance of addressing food insecurity, especially when dealing with people living with HIV/AIDS and those on treatment.
"You can not take tablets on an empty stomach. Many of our people do not have any food to eat right now. The fields are dry and the rains have come much too late and too heavy, which can lead to potential flooding."
An advantage of adding food to home based care and treatment initiatives is that people are more willing to access health services if they know they will not be sent home hungry. For the Namibia Red Cross to succeed in its work of making a difference in the lives of people living with conditions like tuberculosis or HIV and AIDS, it must now take account of the shortage of food.