STIGMA AND DISCRMINATION:


HIV/AIDS and Poverty

This is an article from our Fall 2005 newsletter on the link between HIV/AIDS and Poverty....

Does AIDS lead to poverty or does poverty lead to AIDS? The fact is poverty and HIV/AIDS are so inextricably linked, answering that question would be like answering the proverbial 'which came first the chicken or the egg?'¬ What is needed is not further debate on whether AIDS causes poverty or poverty causes AIDS, but the recognition that HIV/AIDS is an issue that has had an impact on every aspect of the social, economic and political development of African nations. HIV/AIDS prevention programs cannot be successful without addressing poverty, and poverty will only deepen if something isn't done to slow the spread of HIV/AIDS and provide care and treatment to people with AIDS.

HIV/AIDS is deepening poverty in many regions of Africa. In Botswana, for example, the annual income of the poorest households is expected to decline by 13% over the next 10 years as a direct result of HIV/AIDS. The reason for this is that AIDS targets the most productive population, leaving children and the elderly in a situation of having to provide not only for themselves, but also for the members of their families who are sick. HIV results in loss of household income (frequently the HIV+ member of a household is the primary breadwinner). Household resources, which might have been used for education, business investment or savings, are redirected to medical care and drugs. Other household breadwinners often have to work less in order to care for the sick person. Children orphaned by HIV/AIDS generally do not receive proper nutrition or education and are thus ill-equipped to provide for themselves in the future.

Poverty is spreading HIV/AIDS throughout Africa. One of the most common misconceptions about AIDS is the people contract AIDS because the refuse to make 'lifestyle changes'¬ and engage in risky behaviour. This belief assumes that everyone has the ability to make the same choices. Unfortunately that simply is not true. Poverty drastically reduces a person's ability to make healthy choices about sexual practices. For street youth, the sex trade is often the primary means of day to day survival. Faced with the decision of starvation today or dying of AIDS tomorrow, what would you pick? African women are generally more impoverished than African men, have less ability to decide when and with whom to have sex, and are more vulnerable to HIV. According to UNAIDS there are, on average, 13 women living with HIV for every 10 infected men and the gap continues to grow. African women do not engage in riskier behaviour then men; it is just that they are often economically dependent on their male partners and therefore have fewer choices.

The impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on every aspect of life in Africa cannot be ignored. The potential impact of the pandemic on the future development of African nations cannot be underestimated. It is essential the HIV/AIDS be considered and integrated into all areas of Canada-Africa cooperation.


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