1. Links between HIV/AIDS and Household Food Security
HIV/AIDS is different from other diseases because it is debilitating at first, fatal in the end, and affects adults in the prime of their productive lives.
The effects of HIV/AIDS at the household level are multiple and far-reaching with knock-on effects at every level of the micro- and macro-economy.
The following figures provide an example of sources of food and income and expenditure patterns for typical rural poor households with corresponding reference to illustrative effects of HIV/AIDS on the household economy.
Sources of household food
Illustrative HIV/AIDS effects
Gifts from richer relatives diminish if the givers are HIV-afflicted.
The time spent collecting wild foods & fishing may have to be diverted to crop production with the loss of a household head
Young productive men and women, the biggest targets of HIV, are common sources of this labor-for-food exchange. Without their contribution, a household has little chance of making ends meet.
On average, an adult with HIV/AIDS suffers from 17 AIDS-related sick spells before dying. Household production decreases with each event.
Sources of household cash
Illustrative HIV/AIDS effects
As labor is diverted away from alternative options to crop production, this income may be lost.
Men who migrate are typical victims of HIV - and the loss of this income with their sickness can cripple a household.
Already overburdened women often partake in local labor activities - when they become sick, the loss of energy translates into lost income
With less cash available, investments in animal health decline, resulting in lower income from this source.
Household expenditure patterns
Illustrative HIV/AIDS effects
Discretionary expenditure quickly disappears as health costs rise, leaving families unable to cope with unexpected costs or increased food demand in a bad year.
One in four children in sub-Saharan Africa have lost at least one parent to AIDS. For families who foster AIDS orphans, relative expenditure on food increases, putting these households closer to the edge and less able to recover from cyclical droughts or other shocks.
Expenditure on basic goods such as salt & soap are compromised by increased expenditures on food and health.
Rising health expenditure & funeral costs force households to choose between food and school.