The Impact of the AIDS Pandemic on the National Economy and Development

The focus of this chapter is the relationship between poverty, the economy and hunger. The chapter opens with an outline of Malawi’s economy including human development indicators, economic growth levels, aid dependence, the crippling level of external and internal debts and employment statistics. The second part of the chapter addresses the impact of AIDS on children and the elderly. The issue of how AIDS impacts on children has not been given sufficient priority in the planning of national responses. We review data to demonstrate the growing number of orphans in Africa and in Malawi, who are increasingly at risk from exploitation and disease. Finally, we examine the impact of AIDS on agriculture and livelihoods. The AIDS pandemic almost guarantees household poverty in an economy where household labour is the major economic resource available. Food security for such households depends on the availability of labour to perform husbandry tasks on time – if these are delayed, productivity declines and the household is pushed into a downward spiral of poverty.