[URBANTH-L]CFP: Anthropological Approaches to Confronting HIV/AIDS & Food Insecurity in Sub-Saharan Africa

[Angela Jancius]

CALL FOR PAPERS

Anthropological Approaches to Confronting HIV/AIDS and Food Insecurity in Sub-Saharan Africa

The NAPA Bulletin is seeking contributions for a 2010 thematic issue on "Anthropological Approaches to Confronting HIV/AIDS and Food Insecurity in Sub-Saharan Africa." Please submit a 250-word abstract and a 50- to 100-word biographical sketch to Barrett Brenton brentonb at stjohns.edu, John Mazzeo jmazzeo at depaul.edu, and Alexander Rödlach rodlach at creighton.edu, the issue editors, no later than November 1, 2009.

Synopsis:

The synergism among nutritional status, immune function, and disease is known to heighten susceptibility to HIV infection and accelerate its progression to full-blown AIDS.   In addition to traditional HIV/AIDS prevention strategies and increased access to treatment, there is a great need to develop policies and programs that aim to reduce and eliminate food and nutrition insecurity in resource-poor countries affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

This call to action is even more urgent in light of the recent debate over how to best use the $10 billion to $15 billion spent annually on the prevention and treatment of AIDS.  With the revised downward estimate of the number of people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide (UNAIDS 2007), the slow development of a promising vaccine, and the discouraging results from a recent microbicide trial (Center for Global Development 2007), health experts have suggested that some of the billions of dollars spent in these efforts should be reallocated to address basic problems such as malnutrition, tuberculosis, diarrheal and enteric diseases, and malaria.  The co-occurrence of these problems with HIV/AIDS underscores the role that structural inequalities play in the spread of infectious diseases.

This issue brings together anthropologists, other social scientists, and practitioners to detail the ways in which food security measures can be effectively integrated with HIV/AIDS prevention and anti-retroviral treatment efforts in Sub-Saharan Africa.  The design and promotion of best practices that incorporate culturally, economically, and politically appropriate solutions will be highlighted throughout the volume.

Contributors are asked to consider the following questions in preparing their chapters:

1)      In what, if any ways, has food and nutrition insecurity contributed to the spread of HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa?

2)      What have social scientists learned about the relationship between economic insecurity and HIV risk behaviors that can aid in the development of innovative programs that combine prevention strategies with the alleviation of food insecurity?

3)      Are there any programs currently in place that combine HIV prevention or treatment and the alleviation of food insecurity?  What can we learn from these programs in terms of best practices?

4)      What role do social scientists have in the development of policy and programming with regard to these issues?

5)      How do we design programs that are culturally appropriate and that effectively address the problem of AIDS stigmatization?  On a related issue, how do we recruit individuals into such programs and retain them through time?

6)      How can such programs be evaluated in order to measure their efficacy?


Tentative Publication Schedule and Deadlines:

November 1, 2009:     Abstracts and Bio-Sketches to Co-Editors

January 15, 2010:        Selected Manuscripts to Co-Editors

March 15, 2010:          Authors Return Revised Manuscripts to Co-Editors to be sent out for Peer-Review

Summer 2010:             Peer-Review Comments Returned to Authors

August 1, 2010:          Authors Return Revised Manuscripts to Co-Editors

Fall 2010:                    NAPA Bulletin Published


About the NAPA Bulletin:

Founded in 1983, NAPA strives to promote the practice of anthropology, both within the discipline and among private and public organizations.  As the official publication of NAPA, the NAPA Bulletin serves to provide information and advice concerning the business end of the practice, to review specific branches of the practice, and to integrate the practice of anthropology with theory in order to increase the knowledge and understanding of the human condition. For more information go to:
http://www.wiley.com/bw/journal.asp?ref=1556-4789&site=1



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