The crisis in southern Africa during 2002 and 2003 highlighted the complex connections between HIV/AIDS, food security and famine.  The disease is clearly a massive crisis in its own right: to the extent that humanitarian response is concerned with increased levels of mortality and morbidity, HIV/AIDS can clearly be described as an emergency. However, it is a longterm crisis, and its impacts will be felt for decades. This paper examines the implications of HIV/AIDS for our understanding of crisis and of the role of humanitarian aid therein.