Fish to Feed HIV affected families in Malawi

As fish caught from natural lakes and streams have traditionally been an important part of the diet in landlocked Malawi, increasing population and declining catches reduced annual per capita fish consumption from 14 kilograms in the 1970s to 4.2 kilograms in 2005. Aquaculture has since been seen as an exit option to relieve pressure from dwindling capture fisheries and increase fish production and consumption. The project “Fish to feed HIV affected families in Malawi” implemented by WorldFish Center in collaboration with World Vision with funding through Global Giving in southern Malawi, helps HIV/AIDS affected and infected poor families including women to live a better life with nutritious food on the table and money in their pockets through appropriate adoption of Integrated Aquaculture-Agriculture (IAA) technologies to the needs of the affected families. Over the past twelve months, the WorldFish Center, with the Global Giving Fund has made remarkable contribution to improving income and food security through the promotion of Integrated Agriculture Aquaculture (IAA) in primary schools. Nineteen (19) ponds have now been constructed and stocked with fish. One school, Samalani, enjoyed its first harvest in June with over 30kgs of fish harvested from a 300 square meter pond. All schools have now opened maize and vegetable fields that are being irrigated from the pond water. The optimism in reducing food and nutritional insecurity increased even more with the adaptation of the IAA technologies to improve incomes and nutritional status of the HIV- affected elderly and orphaned households.

• WorldFish current update (PDF)