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Chapter 3 The importance of addressing risk 81
lead to a significant reduction in household food production, which represents a
major shock for households relying on production for food self-sufficiency.
The death of an adult member of the household is always a major shock, not only
as a personal tragedy but also in terms of loss of income and of labour, and in the
case of the death of a male household head also in terms of risks of loss of land,
livestock and other household assets. In the case of HIV/AIDS deaths, these risks are
often particularly great for widows and children. In some countries and areas within
countries, HIV/AIDS has also undermined the overall environment for economic
growth and social development by disrupting or weakening important services.
For instance, in some areas government services have been weakened by HIV-induced
sickness and AIDS-related deaths among the staff of line ministries and service
agencies. At the household level, lower agricultural earnings and reduced nutrition
increase the likelihood of contracting HIV. In terms of health care, the provision of
anti-retroviral drugs has substantially increased during this decade: one-third of
Africans with advanced HIV infections had access to them by 2007, although this rate
is likely to be lower in rural areas. 81 However, progress on this front has been uneven,
“We sold the fields at the death of our
father… at that time we hadn’t a single
chicken when that death caught us…
we didn’t have anything ourselves, so
we sold the field. It was auctioned, not
for its value… but quickly, carelessly
so he wouldn’t be left to rot. At that
time, we sought money from other
people but the people didn’t give.
So we had to sell the field.”
Ranotenie,
female, 46 years, Madagascar