The World Food Programme (WFP) today marks World AIDS Day by emphasizing the importance of providing food and nutrition assistance to people living with HIV who are undergoing antiretroviral treatment (ART).“Poor nutritional status and HIV can reinforce each other in a vicious circle,” said Martin Bloem, WFP's chief of Nutrition and HIV/AIDS Policy. “WFP works with communities and health centres around the world to ensure that people affected by HIV and AIDS receive comprehensive support that nourishes and strengthens their bodies. By providing the right food to vulnerable populations, WFP promotes good health for patients while protecting their families from the negative impacts of HIV.”In 2010, WFP supported 2.5 million people in 44 countries through its HIV and TB programmes, providing food and nutrition support to some 1.3 million people living with HIV as part of their antiretroviral treatment (ART) or TB treatment and another 1.2 million people affected by these diseases. In 2011, WFP aims to reach about the same number of people.“Here in Ghana, WFP is just beginning a food assistance programme for people living with HIV and their households in the Eastern Region which has the highest number of infections,” said WFP Ghana Representative and Country Director, Ismail Omer. “A similar programme was started in the three northern regions earlier in February and in the Millennium Village Project in the Ashanti Region sometime last year.”For more information on the WFP's work in Ghana, visit our dedicated country page:http://www.wfp.org/insertcountrypagenamehere.WFP assistance, nutrition advice and education activities encourage successful treatment of people living with HIV and help to prevent mother-to-child transmission. Participants in WFP's Food by Prescription activities receive nutritious food, including Super Cereal (a highly nutritious blend of cereals blend of cereals, vitamins and minerals) and ready-to-use foods like the peanut-based Plumpy'doz.WFP seeks to lessen the socio-economic impacts of HIV by providing social safety nets for affected households and other populations, like orphans and vulnerable children. When families receive cash or voucher transfers or food assistance and are given the opportunity to participate in income-generating activities, they are able to increase their own food security. WFP also provides support for national HIV/AIDS action plans to help increase government ownership of food and nutrition assistance activities. In addition, WFP is a co-sponsor of UNAIDS, a UN partnership that works to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.“In collaboration with the Ghana AIDS Commission and with the support of the Ghana Health Service, National AIDS Control Program, UNAIDS and DANIDA, WFP undertook a nationwide study on the food security and vulnerability of HIV-affected households in Ghana,” Mr. Omer said. “The publication which was launched last Tuesday, provides direction for better tailored strategies and interventions for PLHIV and their households.”