Global Food Insecurity Deepens HIV Crisis: WFP Mandates Integrated Health and Nutrition Responses

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being | SDG 2: Zero Hunger | SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

Institutions: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare | Ministry of Food and Public Distribution

The World Food Programme (WFP) report, HIV in Numbers 2024, highlights the severe, ongoing crisis of HIV, with 39.9 million people living with HIV (PLHIV) globally by the end of 2023. The core finding is that food insecurity and malnutrition significantly worsen the HIV crisis, as malnutrition weakens the immune system and disrupts adherence to antiretroviral treatment (ART). Ongoing humanitarian crises, driven by conflict and climate shocks, further exacerbated these risks, particularly for women and adolescent girls.

In response, WFP launched its new global strategy, Feeding Health, the last mile on HIV (2025-2030), which integrates HIV into both humanitarian and resilience-building efforts. The strategy uses a three-tiered approach to prioritize interventions : Tier 1 countries (with recurrent crises) receive urgent food and nutrition support , Tier 2 countries focus on HIV-sensitive social protection , and Tier 3 countries strengthen national systems. WFP directly supported 113,877 PLHIV and their households across 32 countries in 2024 with food, cash transfers, and resilience programmes.

The findings underscore the urgent need for India’s National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) and social protection schemes to mandate integrated delivery systems. Treating food and nutritional support as a non-negotiable component of HIV treatment—through convergence between health centers and food distribution systems—is crucial for improving ART adherence and achieving national public health goals.

Follow the full update here: https://docs.wfp.org/api/documents/WFP-0000168391/download/

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