FHI 360 livelihoods project hosts Twitter chat and launches new website


FHI 360 livelihoods project hosts Twitter chat and launches new website

On May 23rd, from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. EDT, FHI 360’s Livelihoods and Food Security Technical Assistance (LIFT) project, Agrilinks and USAID Global Health will be co-hosting an #AskAg Twitter chat on the “Intersection of HIV/AIDS and Food Security” as a part of Global Health month at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Twitter chats are virtual social media conversations on specific topics. The Agrilinks’ #AskAg series is a monthly event that convenes different partners to discuss current topics in agriculture and food security. These events leverage social media to facilitate new types of knowledge exchange between technical experts and chat participants from around the world. This month, we’ll have a panel of expert tweeters, including LIFT’s Meaghan Murphy, to discuss approaches to improve food security, particularly for those affected by HIV or AIDS.

This topic was chosen because the relationship between HIV and livelihood and food insecurity is bidirectional: HIV can increase the vulnerability of households and communities to livelihood and food insecurity, while livelihood and food insecurity can also increase the risk of a person becoming infected with the HIV virus. Additionally,

  • HIV can impact all aspects of a household’s livelihood, directly affecting income generation and productivity due to compromised health of people living with HIV, increased care costs associated with the illness, stigma and even death of affected household members. The potential for reduced livelihood can have a direct impact on food access and ultimately the diet quality and quantity of individuals in the household.
  • The increased nutritional needs of people living with HIV and the toll that HIV takes on one’s body further make food utilization and proper nutrition critical elements of the HIV and food security discussion.
  • Vulnerable households with insecure livelihoods and food access often resort to unsustainable coping behaviors that might include behaviors that put them at risk for contracting HIV.

We invite you to join us as we dive deeper and discuss challenges, opportunities and promising approaches that are found at this critical intersection.

Here’s how to participate:

  • If you are new to Twitter, visit twitter.com to sign up for an account. (For more tips on getting started, check out Agrilink’s Twitter 101 and 102 trainings.)
  • Explore the guiding questions that will be discussed during the chat and think of other questions that you would like answered by our panel of experts.
  • Join us on Thursday, May 23, from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. EDT, for the discussion by using the hashtag #AskAg. You can also watch a livestream of tweets here.
  • Don’t forget to follow @LIFTProject, @Agrilinks and @USAIDGH on Twitter!

To learn more about LIFT, please visit our new website. The site, which offers quick and easy access to information about LIFT, is part of the project’s ongoing effort to provide global technical leadership in building a continuum of care for people living with HIV and at-risk households by linking them to economic strengthening, livelihoods and food security opportunities. Project staff will regularly update the “Notes from the Field” section with observations and information about LIFT activities happening on the ground. Please be sure to check back regularly.

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