Issues Paper No. 1

The HIV Epidemic and Development:

The Unfolding of the Epidemic

Figure 1

The waves of Impact of the Epidemic

 EPICENTRE

WAVE I

WAVE II

WAVE III

WAVE  IV

SPREAD OF THE VIRUS

TRAUMA, ILLNESS AND DEATH

SURVIVORS

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT

LONG-TERM POTENTIAL IMPACT

Description

Spread hidden, but increasing numbers of people becoming infected. Psychological trauma; HIV oportunistic diseases appear; increasing illness and death. Grieving and bereavement, children, elderly and others left without support. Depletion of the labour force, adverse impact on productive and social sectors, shrinking revenues, loss of military strength. Possibility of social and political unrest,

destitution, social and economic disintegration.

Determining factors

Inequalities of
  • wealth
  • power
  • autonomy

Sexual norms and community values.

Attitudes to women.

Mobility.

Ethical/legal environment.

Extent of spread

Attitudes to affected

Ethical and legal environment

Clustering of infection in households and communities dependency ratios

Attitudes to survivors

Ethical and legal environment

Morbidity in productive adults

Clustering in occupations and geographically

Gender role differentiation

Structure of labour market and economy

Effectiveness and type of earlier policies and programmes

Clustering in occupations and geographically

Dependency ratios