Hiv/Aids and Humanitarian Action February 2004

What are the implications of HIV/AIDS for our understanding of crisis and humanitarian aid? HIV/AIDS is both a long-term crisis in its own right and a contributory factor in acute emergencies. The epidemic presents key challenges for both humanitarian and development assistance and for the interface between them. The crisis in southern Africa during 2002 and 2003 highlighted the complex connections between HIV/AIDS food security and famine. This briefing paper examines the implications of HIV/AIDS for our understanding of crisis and of the role of humanitarian aid therein. The disease is clearly a massive crisis in its own right: to the extent that humanitarian response is concerned with increased levels of mortality and morbidity HIV/AIDS can clearly be described as an emergency. However it is a long-term crisis and its impacts will be felt for decades. (excerpt)