HIV/AIDS in the Fisheries Sector in Africa

This policy brief provides information on the scale of HIV and AIDS in the fisheries sector in Africa including the reasons why prevalence rates are so high and how this affects fishing communities. Access to health services and antiretroviral therapy is then briefly reviewed, as are some of the limited experiences directly targeting HIV/AIDS programmes to fishing communities. The concluding discussion highlights areas where more work is needed on policy development, action and further research.

The paper argues that:

• policies will need to link interventions at different levels and across technical sectors, through mainstreaming and using an “HIV lens”
• interventions should involve input from local fishing communities and organisations in the fishing sector