It is well known that the prevalence and impacts of HIV/AIDS pose significant challenges for East Africa, none more so than for fishing communities, where infection rates are believed to range from 10 to 40%. This is far higher than the national averages of the three Partner States – which range from 6% to 7% - and confirms the need for fishing communities to be recognised as a vulnerable group.

Studies have shown that numerous factors contribute to the vulnerability of fishing communities to HIV/AIDS, including living in remote locations, mobility of fishers, daily cash income, cultural norms affected by living way from home, the lower status of women in many cultures, higher ratio of men to women at fish landing beaches and attitudes to risk.

Fishing communities have been sorely neglected in the provision of a wide range of services – from schools and health clinics to good roads and clean drinking water. When it comes to HIV/AIDS, fishing communities have again been neglected – they have not been recognised as a vulnerable group, despite much evidence that the prevalence rates are higher within fisheries than many other groups, and they have not received anywhere near adequate levels of assistance – from awareness raising to care and treatment. With around 1,500 landing sites on Lake Victoria and over 600,000 people directly working in fisheries at the beaches, assisting the fishing communities is a huge logistical challenge.

What is LVFO doing?
In recognition of the neglect of fishing communities, LVFO has developed strategy to tackle HIV/AIDS in the fishing communities of Lake Victoria and plans to work with partners in improving the delivery of services and support to the communities. LVFO began the process by convening a multi-stakeholder workshop in March 2006, bringing together representatives of the national AIDS councils/commissions in the three Partner States, District Medical and Fisheries Officers, representatives from the fisheries departments and research institutes, NGOs and CBOs working with fishing communities on HIV/AIDS and the LVFO Secretariat staff.

The presentations at the workshop confirmed the types of factors that increase the vulnerability of fishing communities to HIV/AIDS, set out the national policies and programmes to tackle HIV/AIDS and made recommendations on what should be done to improve the level and quantity of assistance given to the fishing communities on Lake Victoria.

The Strategy
The strategy will identify those activities that can be implemented by LVFO alone and those that can be implemented with, or by, partners, in the following areas:

• Prevention of HIV infection, particularly targeting the youth.
• Improving access to support, care and treatment (including anti-retroviral therapy, ART) for those living with, or affected by, HIV/AIDS, looking particularly at provision for island and hard to reach communities, through mobile or floating clinics, or boat transport.
• Improving access to other facilities and services, such as potable water and sanitation.
• Improving access to savings and credit facilities and support for improving livelihoods and development of community safety nets to help people to cope with the impacts of HIV/AIDS.
• Empowering women to improve their status in fishing communities, their access to support services and benefits from the fisheries.

The strategy will be multi-sectoral and will require action by many stakeholders and organisations. LVFO will disseminate the strategy widely and will call upon the participation of all stakeholders in implementing the strategy and in lobbying for more support from agencies working on HIV/AIDS for the fishing communities.

One of the Partner States – Uganda – already has a strategy to tackle HIV/AIDS in fishing communities – Strategy for Reducing the Impact of HIV/AIDS on Fishing Communities, October 2005. This strengthens the ability of Uganda to tackle HIV/AIDS in the fishing communities of all its’ lakes and rivers and has helped the Department of Fisheries Resources in increasing the profile of fisheries within the HIV/AIDS policy arena.

Developing the LFVO HIV/AIDS Network
A key component to the LVFO HIV/AIDS in fishing communities’ strategy is to develop a network of agencies and organizations working on HIV/AIDS in fishing communities and those interested in doing so. The formation of the network began at the March 2006 workshop and brings together fisheries departments, HIV/AIDS Councils/Commissions, NGOs and others.

The development and implementation of the strategy will strengthen the operation of the network and will lead to more information sharing, exchange of ideas and lessons, and the generation of partnerships to more effectively reach out to the fishing communities of Lake Victoria.

A number of organizations are working with fishing communities on HIV/AIDS, notably AMREF - the African Medical and Research Foundation – with funding under SIDA’s Lake Victoria Initiative. With their support, the Lake Victoria Basin Commission will develop a strategy and interventions for mobile populations within the basin area.  Fishing communities will feature strongly in their efforts and, as part of the LVBC, LVFO will promote its’ strategy for the long-term benefit of fishing communities on the lake.

Film documentary on HIV/AIDS in fishing communities on Lake Victoria
The impacts of HIV/AIDS in the fishing communities of Lake Victoria were vividly recorded in a film shot in 2005 by IRIN (Integrated Regional Information Networks, part of the United Nation’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs). ‘Deadly Catch: Lake Victoria’s AIDS Crisis’ shows how HIV/AIDS has affected one fishing community and suggests reasons why the impacts are so severe.