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Strengthening responses to the Triple Threat in the Southern Africa region
- learning from field programmes in Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia -
Joint Project of Concern Worldwide (CW), Oxfam International (OI) and the Southern Africa Regional Poverty Network (SARPN)
Malawi Report
SARPN acknowledges Concern Worldwide and Oxfam International as the source of this document.
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Background
A number of Concern Worldwide and Oxfam-International projects were visited in Malawi between the 23rd and 28th of April as part of the joint project on strengthening responses to the Triple Threat of HIV/AIDS, food insecurity and weakening capacity for service delivery in the Southern African region1. The project consisted of a blend of policy level discussions with organisations such as Concern, the Joint Oxfam Programme in Malawi (JOPM), Word Alive Ministries, Evangelical Lutheran Development Service, and Mponela AIDS Information and Counselling Centre and on-site reflections of field staff and community meetings currently engaged in development work in Blantyre, Dowa, Phalombe and Mulanje Districts. The objective was to debate and document the experiences and understanding of practitioners engaged in supporting communities to achieve livelihood security taking account of factors underpinning a complex situation.
The following represents some of the field observations, which are shared to elicit commentary and debate amongst interested parties. At the outset it was recognised that southern Africa is experiencing a complex crisis, with both acute and chronic dimensions. Drawing on the lessons of the 2001-03 livelihoods crisis and more recent experiences, particularly those of field practitioners, a more nuanced response strategy is called for. A number of issues emerging from the field exercise as crucial with regards to livelihood insecurity in Malawi have been grouped as common themes.
The Drivers of Food Insecurity in Malawi
It was widely acknowledged in community discussions2, with partner organisations present, that livelihoods had come under increasing pressure across Malawi since 2001. Practically all discussions focused on the lack of soil fertility and the inability of communities to afford fertilizers despite the government subsidies of the past year. The unsustainable use of trees or "deforestation" was recognised as a major cause of soil erosion and diminishing fertility. Wood was increasingly used by charcoal makers for sale but also for the fuel and timber needs of most households whom had few alternatives. Another dimension of environmental stresses was uncertain rainfall and a lack of control over water. The "new" variability in rainfall meant that agriculture was less predictable than in the past with excesses washing away costly fertilizer and soil, or a dry period stunting crops.
Small landholdings, particularly in Mulanje, were identified in community discussions as a major limiting factor to food security. This problem was primarily a result of a high population pressure although the rigid boundaries of the tea estates (seen to be owned by "multi-nationals" and not "Malawians") were also a factor in limiting expansion of areas under community agriculture. Tea estates were recognised as being important in terms of creating some employment and for broader economic development but these benefits were largely intangible for communities and therefore estates were regarded with some negativity.
Without prompting from the external agencies present, practically all discussions focused to some extent on how HIV/AIDS worsened this underlying situation ("there is too much of that here")3, as many households (one group claimed "most" households) had sick adults, which diverted labour and eroded resources. It was clear that during discussions some community members clearly articulated the two-way relationship between HIV/AIDS and food security4. The recent excessive rains had also led to an increase in malaria, and incidents of severe diarrhoea, during the cultivation period.
It was significant that when discussing HIV/AIDS impacts, most people identified the trauma of illness within a family as a major contributing factor to food insecurity. Individuals caring for the sick would be continually thinking of them, diverting attention from other livelihood tasks at hand ("even the mind is on the sick"). This illustrates the very close relationship between the general activities of the household (for example child care and rearing, support relations between adults, home maintenance, food processing) and the production of crops and animal husbandry to feed the household. From the community discussions it appeared that these pressures were primarily borne by females within the household largely as a result of the gendered nature of caring activities.
In this general analysis, agricultural production, as a cornerstone of household food security of the areas visited, was undermined by a combination of environmental stress (soil degradation, lack of tree cover) and climate (rainfall variability), exacerbated by poverty (as individuals sought income-generating activities or livelihood assets from surrounding natural resources) and HIV/AIDS.
Footnotes:
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The underlying problems of HIV/AIDS, food insecurity and weakening capacity for service delivery (triple threat) is rapidly reversing development gains, leaving communities and whole societies more vulnerable to external shocks, such as the effects of the dry-spell that impacted the region in late 2005.
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Meetings facilitated by ICOCA (Word Alive Ministries), Manjumbe Village, Blantyre; Evangelical Lutheran Development Association, Thombozi Community and Mphonde HBC Group, Phalombe; Oxfam, Kangoma Community, Mulanje; and Concern, Mponela Community, Dowa District.
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Thombozi Community discussion.
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It is now well established that HIV has an impact on livelihoods, reducing food security through illness and death; whilst food insecurity and poverty fuel the HIV epidemic as people are driven to adopt risky strategies in order to survive. Ultimately hiv/AIDS impacts on the livelihood outcomes of households.
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