Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Wild foods and household food security responses to AIDS: evidence from South Africa

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Population and Environment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Wild foods may offer unique benefits to households afflicted by AIDS, providing a nutritious and freely available food source at minimal labour and financial costs. This article presents the results of food security assessments in two rural South African sites. Detailed household dietary recalls from 227 households, combined with qualitative work, explored the association of household AIDS proxies (recent morbidity, mortality and orphan fostering) with household food security and dietary composition. The study found that AIDS-proxy households were significantly more food insecure, and households fostering orphans were both poorer and more food insecure. Wild foods were evident in 40.3% of the 48 h recalls, with significantly greater likelihood of use in households with fostering paternal orphans, and/or with at least one AIDS proxy. Only paternal orphans were significantly associated with likelihood of using wild foods when controlling for household socio-economic status. Qualitative data suggests that households afflicted by AIDS might curtail their use of wild foods due to household labour shortages and stigma. This is unfortunate, as regressions indicate that households using wild foods may be more economically resilient. This may be particularly important for households registering AIDS proxies, due to a demonstrated negative correlation between accumulated household AIDS proxies and household income.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. As a note on terminology, this study refers to the impacts of AIDS and not HIV/AIDS because the proxies that were used to define affliction status detected are understood to be manifest at the AIDS stage of HIV infection. The impact of HIV on household food security without the presence of AIDS is beyond the scope of this study.

  2. If we extrapolate these sample statistics to the survey population, we have an estimated mortality rate of 6% of the population aged 20–64 in a 12-month period. Regional AIDS statistics for the survey period in 2006 attribute between 57% of all deaths to AIDS, although for adults aged 15–49 the proportion is as high as 78% (Dorrington et al. 2006). Thus, we would anticipate that at least half of the 6% mortality for 20- to 64-year-old recorded in the survey would actually be attributed to AIDS. This is only slightly higher than regional data for AIDS-attributable mortality incidence, which for 2006 was 2.3% of adults aged 20–64 (Dorrington et al. 2006).

References

  • Angelsen, A., & Wunder, S. (2003). Exploring the forest-poverty link: Key concepts, issues and research implications. Bogor: CIFOR.

    Google Scholar 

  • Azadbakht, L., Mirmiran, P., & Azizi, F. (2005). Variety scores of food groups contribute to the specific nutrient adequacy of Tehranian men. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 59, 1233–1240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bachmann, M. O., & Booysen, L. R. (2003). Health and economic impact of HIV/AIDS on South African households: A cohort study. BMC Public Health, 3, 14–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bachmann, M. O., & Booysen, F. R. (2004). Relationships between HIV/AIDS, income and expenditure over time in deprived South African households. AIDS Care, 16, 817–826.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barany, M., Hammett, A. L., Stadler, K. M., & Kengni, E. (2004). Non-timber forest products in the food security and nutrition of smallholders afflicted by HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. Forests, Trees and Livelihoods, 14, 3–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnett, J., & Whiteside, A. (2002a). AIDS in the twenty-first century: Disease and globalisation. Basingstoke: Macmillan Palgrave.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnett, T., & Whiteside, A. (2002b). Poverty and HIV/AIDS: Impact, coping and mitigation strategy. In C. Giovanni (Ed.), Aids, public policy and child well-being. (Chapter 11). Florence: UNICEF.

  • Beisel, W. R. (2002). Nutritionally acquired immune deficiency syndromes. In H. Friss (Ed.), Micronutrients and HIV infection (pp. 24–42). Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bollinger, L., & Stover, J. (1999). The economic impact of AIDS in South Africa. The Futures Group International. The Policy Project.

  • Cavendish, W. (2002). Rural livelihoods and non-timber forest products. In W. De Jong & B. Campbell (Eds.), The role of non-timber forest products in socio-economic development. Bangor: CIFOR.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chung, K. L., Haddad, L., Ramakrishna, J., & Riely, F. (1997). Alternative approaches to locating the food insecure: Qualitative and quantitative evidence from South India. Washington, D.C.: International Food Policy and Research Institute, Food Consumption and Nutrition Division, FCND Discussion paper no. 22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coates, J. (2004). Experience and expression of food insecurity across cultures: Practical Implications for valid measurement. Washington DC: Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance Project, Academy for Educational Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Desmond, C., & Gow, J. (2001). Sickness, death and poverty: Our bequest to orphans. Durban, University of KwaZulu-Natal: Health Economics and HIV/AIDS Research Division (HEARD).

    Google Scholar 

  • De Waal, A., & Whiteside, A. (2003). New variant famine: AIDS and food crisis in southern Africa. The Lancet, 362, 1234–1237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dorrington, R., Johnson, L. F., Bradshaw, D., & Daniel, T. (2006). The demographic impact of HIV/AIDS in South Africa. National and provincial indicators for 2006. Centre for Actuarial Research, South African Medical Research Council and Actuarial Society of South Africa.

  • Drimie, S. (2003). HIV/AIDS and land: Case studies from Kenya, Lesotho and South Africa. Development Southern Africa, 20, 647–658.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Du Guerny, J. (2002). Meeting the HIV/AIDS challenge to food security: The role of labour saving technologies in farm-households. Bangkok, Thailand, UNDP: South East Asia HIV and Development Plan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dwasi, J. (2002). HIV/AIDS and natural resource management in Africa: Findings from Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, and Uganda. Washington: Africa Biodiversity Collaborative Group (ABCG).

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO. (2002). HIV/AIDS, agriculture and food security in mainland and small island countries of Africa. Rome: FAO.

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO. (2003). HIV/AIDS and agriculture: Impacts and responses: Case studies from Namibia, Uganda and Zambia. Rome: FAO.

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO. (2004). Forestry and agroforestry in multisectoral HIV/AIDS programming. FAO HIV/AIDS programme. Rome: FAO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson, E. L., Gibson, R. S., Opare-Obisaw, F., Osei-Opare, F., Lamba, C., & Ounpuu, S. (1993). Seasonal food consumption patterns and dietary diversity of rural preschool Ghanian and Malawian children. Ecology of Food and Nutrition, 29, 219–234.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flueret, A. (1979). The role of wild forage plants in the diet: A case study of Lushoto, Tanzania. Ecology of Food and Nutrition, 8, 87–93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friss, H. (1998). The possible role of micronutrients in HIV infection. SCN News, 17, 11–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frongillo, E. A., & Nanama, S. (2006). Development and validation of an experience based measure of household food insecurity within and across seasons in Burkina Faso. American Society for Nutrition, 136(Supplement), 1409S–1419S.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gillespie, S., & Kadiyala, S. (2005). HIV/AIDS and food and nutrition security: From evidence to action (pp. 1–151). Washington, D.C.: IFPRI.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haddad, L., & Gillespie, S. (2001). Effective food and nutrition policy responses to HIV/AIDS: What we know and what we need to know. Journal of International Development, 13, 487–511.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton, W. L., Cook, J., Thompson, W. W., Buron, L. F., Frongillo, E. A., Olson, C. M., et al. (1997). Household food security in the United States in 1995. Technical report of the food security measurement project. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Agriculture.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hammarskjold, M. (2003). The environment, natural resources and HIV/AIDS. SIDA: Environment Policy Division.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hatloy, A., Hallund, J., Diarra, M. M., & Oshaug, A. (2000). Food variety, socioeconomic status and nutritional status in urban and rural areas in Koutiala (Mali). Public Health and Nutrition, 3, 57–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hendriks, S. (2005). The challenges facing empirical estimation of household food (in)security in South Africa. Development Southern Africa, 22(1), 108–123.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoddinott, J., & Yohannes, Y. (2002). Dietary diversity as a food security indicator. Washington D.C.: Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance (FANTA USAID) Academy for Educational Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Humphrey, C. M., Clegg, M. S., Keen, C. L., & Grivetti, L. (1993). Food diversity and drought survival: The Hausa example. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, 44, 1–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hunter, L., Twine, W., & Patterson, L. (2007). “Locusts are now our beef”: Adult mortality and household dietary use of local environmental resources in rural South Africa. Scandanavian Journal of Public Health, 35(3), 165–174.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Integrated Development Plan Msunduzi. (2004). Msunduzi District Municipality, Durban, South Africa.

  • Jayne, T., Chapoto, A., Byron, E., Ndiyoi, M., Hamazakaza, P., Kadiyala, S., & Gillespie, S. (2006). Community-level impacts of AIDS-related mortality: Panel survey evidence from Zambia. Review of Agricultural Economics, 28, 440–457.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jooma, M. B. (2005). Southern Africa assessment: Food security and HIV/AIDS. African Security Review, 14(1), 59–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaschula, S. (2008). How can we measure the “HIV/AIDS effect” on household food security? Piloting an experiential indicator in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal. South African Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 21(1), 4–5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, E. (2005). Keynote paper: Qualitative measures of food insecurity and hunger. Rome: FAO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kinyuy, W. (2001). Cameroon: Traditional food preparations improve immune system of HIV/AIDS patients. Washington D.C.: World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kruger, M., Sayed, N., Langenhoven, M., & Holing, F. (2005). Composition of South African foods: Vegetables and fruit. Pretoria, Tygerberg: Medical Research Council.

    Google Scholar 

  • Low, A. B., & Robelo, A. G. (1996). Vegetation of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. Department of Environ.al. Affairs and Tourism, Pretoria, South Africa.

  • Martin, K., Rogers, B., Cook, J. T., & Joseph, H. M. (2004). Social capital is associated with decreased risk of hunger. Social Science and Medicine, 58, 2645–2654.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maxwell, D., Watkins, B., Wheeler, R., & Collins, G. (2003). The coping strategies index: A tool for rapidly measuring food security and the impact of food aid programs in emergencies. Nairobi: Care Eastern and Central Africa Regional Management Unit and the World Food Programme Vulnerability Assessment and Mapping Unit.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGarry, D. K. (2007). The impact of HIV/AIDS on rural children’s reliance on biodiversity within the Eastern Cape, South Africa. MSc thesis. Rhodes University, Grahamstown.

  • Mehendale, S. M., Shepherd, M. E., Brookmeyer, R. S., Semba, R. D., Divekar, A. D., Gangakhedkar, R. R., et al. (2001). Low carotenoid concentration and the risk of HIV seroconversion in Pune, India. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, 26, 352–359.

    Google Scholar 

  • Melikian, G., Mmiro, F., Ndugwa, C., Perry, R., Jackson, J. B., Garrett, E., et al. (2001). Relation of vitamin A and carotenoid status to growth failure and mortality among Ugandan infants with human immunodeficiency virus. Nutrition, 17(7–8), 567–572.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mertz, O., Lykke, A. M., & Reenberg, A. (2001). Importance and seasonality of vegetable consumption and marketing in Burkina Faso. Economic Botany, 55(2), 276–289.

    Google Scholar 

  • Migotto, M., Davis, B., Carletto, G., & Beegle, K. (2005). Measuring food security using respondents’ perception of food consumption adequacy (Rep. No. ESA working paper no. 05-10). Washington, D.C.: Agricultural and Development Economics Division, The Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations.

  • Miller, C. M., Gruskin, S., Rajaraman, D., Subramanian, J. H., & Heymann, J. (2006). The orphan crisis in Botswana’s working households: Growing caregiver responsabilities in the absence of adequate support. American Journal of Public Health, 96, 1429–1435.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, C. M., Sofia Gruskin, S. V., & Subramanian, J. H. (2007). Emerging health disparities in Botswana: Examining the situation of orphans during the AIDS epidemic. Social Science and Medicine, 64(12), 2476–2486.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mphale, M. M., Rwambali, E. G., & Makoae, M. G. (2002). HIV/AIDS and its impacts on land tenure and livelihoods in Lesotho. Paper for FAO/SARPN workshop on HIV/AIDS and Land Tenure, June 2002, Pretoria.

  • Mutangadura, G., Mukurazita, D., & Jackson, H. (1999). A review of household and community responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the rural Sub-Saharan Africa. Geneva, Switzerland: Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

    Google Scholar 

  • Ogle, B. M., & Grivetti, L. (1985). Legacy of the chameleon: Edible wild plants in the Kingdom of Swaziland, southern Africa. A cultural, ecological, nutritional study. Part I – Introduction, objectives, methods, Swazi culture, landscape and diet. Ecology of Food and Nutrition, 16(3), 193–208.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ogle, B. M., Hung, P. H., & Tuyet, H. T. (2001). Significance of wild vegetables in micronutrient intakes of women in Vietnam: An analysis of food variety. Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 10, 21–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parikh, A., De Silva, M. B., Cakwe, M., Quinlan, T., Simon, J., Skalicky, A., & Zhuwau, T. (2007). Exploring the Cinderella myth: Intrahousehold differences in child wellbeing between orphans and non-orphans in Amajuba District, South Africa. AIDS, 21, S95–S103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paumgarten, F. (2005). The role of natural resources as safety-nets: A review of evidence with emphasis on southern Africa. Geojournal, 64, 189–197.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paumgarten, F. (2006). The significance of the safety-net role of NTFPs in rural livelihoods, South Africa. M.Sc. Thesis, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 256 pp.

  • Piwoz, E., & Preble, E. (2002). HIV/AIDS and nutrition: A review of the literature and recommendations for nutritional care and support in sub-Saharan Africa. Washington DC: United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

    Google Scholar 

  • Quinlan, T. (2004). The link between conservation and HIV/AIDS - what can be done? 2004. Durban, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, HEARD (Heath Economics and HIV/AIDS Division), University of Natal. Report of a special side event, World Parks Congress.

  • Rose, D., & Charlton, K. E. (2002). Quantitative indicators from a food expenditure survey can be used to target the food insecure in South Africa. Journal of Nutrition, 132, 3235–3242.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ruel, M. T. (2002). Is dietary diversity an indicator of food security or dietary quality: A review of measurement issues and research needs. Geneva, Switzerland: International Food Policy and Research Institute (IFPRI) Food Consumption and Nutrition Division (FCND).

    Google Scholar 

  • SADC FANR VAC (2003). Towards Identifying Impacts of HIV/AIDS on Food Insecurity in southern Africa and Implications for response: Findings from Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe, Harare: Southern African Development Community, Food, Agriculture and natural resource vulnerability assessment committee (FANR).

  • Savy, M., Martin-prevel, Y., Sawadogo, P., Kameli, Y., & Delepeuch, F. (2005). Use of variety/diversity scores for diet quality measurement: Relation with nutritional status of women in a rural area of Burkina Faso. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 59, 703–716.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schippers, R. R. (2000). African indigenous vegetables. An overview of the cultivated species. Chatham, UK: Natural Resources Institute/ACP-EU Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Semba, R. D., & Tang, A. M. (1999). Micronutrients and the pathogenesis of human immunodeficiency virus infection. British Journal of Nutrition, 81, 181–189.

    Google Scholar 

  • Senefeld, S., & Polsky, K. (2005). Chronically ill households, food security and coping strategies in rural Zimbabwe. Harare: Consortium for Southern Africa’s Food Emergency (C-SAFE) and Catholic Relief Services (CRS).

    Google Scholar 

  • Shackleton, S. E. (2006). The significance of local trade in natural resource products for livelihoods and poverty alleviation in South Africa. PhD Thesis, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 287 pp.

  • Shackleton, C. M., & Shackleton, S. E. (2004). Use of woodland resources for direct household provisioning. In M. J. Lawes, H. A. Eeley, C. M. Shackleton, & B. G. S. Geach (Eds.), Indigenous forests and woodlands in South Africa: Policy, people and practice (pp. 195–225). Pietermaritzburg: University of KwaZulu-Natal Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shah, M. K., Osborne, N., Mbilizi, T., & Vilili, G. (2002). The impact of HIV/AIDS on agricultural productivity and rural livelihoods in the central region of Malawi. CARE international in Malawi.

  • Smith, G. C., Clegg, M. S., Keen, C. L., & Grivetti, L. E. (1996). Mineral values of selected plant foods common to southern Burkina Faso and to Niamey, Niger, West Africa. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, 47, 41–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swindale, A., & Blinisky, P. (2005). Household dietary diversity score for measurement of household food access: Indicator guide. Washington DC: Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance (FANTA USAID), Academy for Educational Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Torheim, L. E., Barikmo, I., Parr, C. L., Hatloy, A., Ouattara, F., & Oshaug, A. (2003). Validation of food variety as an indicator of diet quality assessed with a food frequency questionnaire for Western Mali. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 57, 1283–1291.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Webb, P., Coates, J., & Houser, R. (2001). Food insecurity measurement and validation study: A report on the formulation of the core food security module, and experiences in its implementation in Bangladesh. Washington, DC: United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

    Google Scholar 

  • World Food Program. (2002). Food security and HIV/AIDS. WFP/EB.3/2001/INF/18. Rome, Italy: Information Notes.

  • Yamano, T., & Jayne, T. S. (2004). Measuring the impacts of working-age adult mortality on small-scale farm households in Kenya. World Development, 32, 91–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was made possible by a grant from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Rhodes University Department of Environmental Science gratefully acknowledges this support. The author would also like to sincerely thank the editors of this edition for their dedicated input into this article.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Science, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa

    S. A. Kaschula

Authors
  1. S. A. Kaschula
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to S. A. Kaschula.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kaschula, S.A. Wild foods and household food security responses to AIDS: evidence from South Africa. Popul Environ 29, 162–185 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11111-008-0068-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11111-008-0068-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation