Food Economy Analysis

1
Food Economy Analysis the effect of HIV/AIDS
on food security at the household level
2
The rural and household economic context
determines how HIV/AIDS will affect food security
at the household level.
3
Increases in HIV Infection in Makueni District
Data from the district health office suggests a
clear upward trend in infections.
So far, most of these have been among richer
households.
4
But when HIV/AIDS affects richer households in
Makueni, poorer households suffer considerable
consequences.
Sources of food for poor households
5
The Makueni case challenges assumptions
about targeting assistance to AIDS-afflicted
individuals
One familys problem quickly becomes the
villages problem.
6
In Siavonga, Zambia, poor households rely on road
traffic between Zambia Zimbabwe for much of
their cash income.
Sources of Food A good year
7
This puts them at higher risk of contracting
HIV/AIDS.
and also directly affects their ability to
continue earning income when they get sick.
8
But the problem isnt limited to poor households
coping with sick members.
These households also have to live with

• increasing demands from additional members

• periodic drought or production problems

9
What is happening to households that take in
orphans from households where both parents have
died of AIDS?
Poor household sources of food A good year
10
but with a 70 drop in production, the household
starts to face a food shortage.
11
When poorer households lose half their income
and expenditure on health increases, they can no
longer afford to meet basic needs.

• With a loss of income and increasing health
  costs, poor households will no longer have enough
  cash for
• sufficient food
• school
• household basics
• clothes
• emergencies

12
It is important to understand the compounded
effects of HIV/AIDS drought in a specific
economic context
and to look beyond food aid as the only
humanitarian/emergency response.
13
IMPLICATIONS FOR DECISION-MAKERS
Targeting assistance to AIDS-affected households
needs to start with an understanding of just who
IS affected by the disease - directly and
indirectly.
Prevention campaigns need to consider which
economic activities put poor households at
greatest risk and focus their outreach
accordingly.
In Makueni, it is important to know that for
every rich household that gets sick.
In Siavonga, poor households send girls to sell
milk or vegetables at the border.
they can make up to 3 times as much engaging in
prostitution.
...at least five poor households access to food
will diminish.
Drought-affected areas tend to coincide with low
income areas - low income areas tend to see
households engaging in higher-risk activities.
Emergency assistance providers need to
understand the compounded effects of natural
shocks and HIV/AIDS when planning drought relief
campaigns.
14
The cost of HIV/AIDS-related prevention
mitigation activities needs to be weighed against
the multiple costs of taking no action.
Food aid to 40 of Africas population could cost
upwards of 50 billion USD annually.
Vs The cost of effective AIDS prevention
campaigns.
The cost of development Vs initiatives aimed
at reducing economic drivers of high-risk
employment.
80 infection rates among tested mothers in
Chokwe District, Mozambique (Nov, 2000).
The lost productivity of a generation caught in a
knowledge gap.
Vs The cost of generic Antiretroviral drugs.