As the causes and consequences of the AIDS epidemic become clearer, so does the fundamental importance of food and nutritional security for HIV-affected individuals. Even as food insecurity remains a major problem in poor households, its effects are worsened in disease states like HIV infection. Food deficiency and nutritional inadequacy compromise an individual's physical status and work capacity, and may also diminish their resource base and household provisioning. The prevalence of HIV and AIDS in Kenya threatens food production systems, which intensifies poverty, increases the nutritional implications for HIV-infected individuals, accelerates the rate of orphanhood beyond what existing social networks can cope with, and basically affects all indicators of socio-economic development in the country. This cross-sectional study sought to assess food and nutrient intake in HIV-affected versus non-HIV-affected households. Purposive sampling was used to select 160 households (77 HIV-affected households and 83 non-HIV-affected households) in Kisumu district, a lowland area along Lake Victoria. A consolidated questionnaire that included a food-frequency checklist and personal 24-hour dietary recall was used to gather information from 40 households. The data were analysed quantitatively; descriptive statistics were mainly measures of central tendency, and inferential statistics involved chi-square tests and independent t-test samples. A table depicting food composition was used to compute the nutrient intake of each household. The findings reveal a significant relationship between a household's HIV/AIDS status and nutrient intake.

Zinc deficiency is a public health problem associated with pregnancy complications and birth outcomes, impaired immune function, and increased duration and severity of diarrhea in children. Zinc is an essential trace mineral that is a component of over 200 enzymes and is known to be necessary for normal collagen synthesis, mineralization of bones, and is also involved in vital processes such as mitosis, synthesis of DNA and protein, and gene expression and activation. In many low-income countries diets are composed primarily of cereals and legumes which contain phytate that inhibit zinc absorption. Most Kenyan diets are composed of cereals and legumes that have high content of zinc inhibitors, whose levels may be reduced through appropriate food processing technologies at the household level. Indigenous food processing methods like soaking, germination, drying, fermentation, boiling, and roasting, and diet combinations usually reduce the levels of zinc antagonists in the plant diets, thus increasing zinc absorption and bio-availability. These methods are used in combination to both enhance organoleptic properties of food, increasing acceptability and also promoting complementation of nutrients. There are food combination patterns that enhance nutrient bioavailability and complementation that was known to most traditional households and are quickly being forgotten due to changing lifestyles, food preparation methods and food tastes. This is worsened by lack of proper knowledge transfer from the older generation. However, the transfer of indigenous knowledge in food processing, preparation and diet combinations need to be profiled to identify processes that promote nutrient content and bioavailability for improved health and nutrient situation of rural populations whose diets are basically plant based. There is need to identify suitable sources of absorbable zinc and possible suitable dietary combinations that can contribute towards the reduction of zinc deficiency. This paper discusses the indigenous food processing methods that enhance zinc absorption and bioavailability of zinc in local dietary combinations that could reduce zinc deficiency.

Background. Nutritional status is an important determinant of HIV outcomes. Objective. To assess the nutrient intake and nutrient status of HIV seropositive patients attending an AIDS outpatient clinic, to improve the nutritional management of HIV-infected patients. Design. Prospective cohort study. Setting. Comprehensive care clinic in Chulaimbo Sub-District Hospital, Kenya. Subjects. 497 HIV sero-positive adults attending the clinic. Main Outcome Measures. Evaluation of nutrient intake using 24-hour recall, food frequency checklist, and nutrient status using biochemical assessment indicators (haemoglobin, creatinine, serum glutamate pyruvate (SGPT) and mean corpuscular volume (MCV)). Results. Among the 497 patients recruited (M : F sex ratio: 1.4, mean age: 39 years ± 10.5 y), Generally there was inadequate nutrient intake reported among the HIV patients, except iron (10.49 ± 3.49 mg). All the biochemical assessment indicators were within normal range except for haemoglobin 11.2 g/dL (11.4 ± 2.60 male and 11.2 ± 4.25 female). Conclusions. Given its high frequency, malnutrition should be prevented, detected, monitored, and treated from the early stages of HIV infection among patients attending AIDS clinics in order to improve survival and quality of life.

Women are a major human resource and assure adequate nutrition, health and cognitive development of their households and children in their formative years. However, women are over-represented among the poor, suffer heavy workloads and have little control over resources for family care. Poverty and food insecurity are enhanced by lack of access to, and control over assets, and lack of access to institutions that provide opportunities and buffer from shocks and crises. The need to improve household food security and empower women in households has seen the implementation of agricultural projects, particularly livestock projects that target women smallholder farmers. These projects are used as one of the major strategies to expand agricultural output in rural areas. Livestock contributes a higher share of income to rural households, improves food security and possibly enhances women's participation in civic activities. Livestock development projects seek to empower women through increased household incomes, improve household incomes of women and nutritional status of women and other members of the households. This paper sought to establish a link between participation in livestock projects, socioeconomic status and nutritional status of index women. A crosssectional survey with a case-control model was conducted to establish the link between participation in a livestock project. Socioeconomic and nutritional status of women from beneficiary and non-beneficiary households of livestock projects in Vihiga District, Kenya was assessed using both the Body Mass and the Brokas Index.. A total of 300 beneficiary and non-beneficiary women were interviewed and their heights and weights measured during the study. Results revealed better incomes, education levels and nutritional status among the beneficiary women. Development projects can attain their objectives when there is deliberate effort to ensure that the project goals are understood by all stakeholders, to create commitment to resource redirection and embrace the purpose of the project. There has to be proper understanding of the familial and community cultures and practices if the course of women is to be addressed profitably, with full support of their husbands and the entire household for the success of the project.

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