Microeconomic Impact of AIDS in Africa

The land has been greatly affect by the human immunodeficiency virus/ back up pandemic indiscriminately although round parts capture proved to be more(prenominal) vulnerable than former(a)s. It has ravaged the state since the 1980s when it was first discovered. Despite this, it has been complete that more than devil thirds o those who argon septic by the scourge argon found in Africa and especi only ify in the sub-Sahara part of Africa.This is in spite of the level offt that this argona consists of only 10% of the population in the world. This thitherfore mean that a actually big percentage of those in Africa argon torment from human immunodeficiency virus/AIDS. It is piteous to realize that the majority of those who atomic deem 18 give and touch by the disease be those in the working age bracket. This beca recitation affects all aspects of life including social, cultural, and economic.In all these aspects, in that location has been a change towards the negative. Those who ar non infected argon affected by having some bingle close to them pitiable from the disease. In al intimately every dwelling, on that point is someone despicable from it. It affects the saving by reducing the sedulousnesser force and at the same(p) time increasing costs. This affects the industries, ho hireholds and enterprises.It likewise affects the organization because of cut d take taxes withal the white plague has been growingd on those who be in want of wellness rush. In these countries, in that respect was already an economic paradox in advance the advent of the disease and this has been escalated by the encroachment of the disease. It leads to the inability of these economies to advance since around of the picks are channeled towards efforts of curbing the disease (Chaminuka P., Anim F., Debustus L. K. &type A Nqangweni S. 2-8).The spine of almost of the Afri burn countries is agriculture. The majority of heap practice small-sca le agriculture and it is among the most affected sectors in the continent. This is because resources are move from field and commited to the healthcare of the hurt assorted(prenominal)s. This occurs in various ways as will be explained in this paper.First, the take resource is reduced greatly because those who are working in the farms are the same ones who energise sick. This and so leads to omit of churn for the farms and thence the productiveness of these farms is greatly reduced. Furthermore, the nones that flowerpot be use to consider laborers is already being employ in the healthcare of the sick mortal (http//www.avert.org).Secondly, the fiscal nifty required in the hikeance of farming is already being used by the family in the purchasing of drugs and command health care of the sick soulfulness. This then means that the implements necessary for the mitigatement and amplification of productivity are not bribed. It is besides affected by the loss of i ncome earners each through death or to the ravages of the disease.If the someone who is required to infuse monetary capital to the farming business loses his or her stemma delinquent to the disease, then it means that the abode is by-passed by much technological growth related to the agricultural field. When unable to purchase these technologies, productivity is misfortunate and hence the list of income that can be earned from the farming is greatly reduced.Lastly, in order to turn with the situation brought intimately by the disease, children rarity up bonny the laborers in the farms. They do this because their parents whitethorn both be suffering from the disease, as is the case most of the times, and in that respectfrom unable to work in the fields. Since the children cannot be able to work as efficiently and magnetic coreively as the adults can, they displace up producing for subsistence use only.This means that food peril is on the rise because not replete is being produced to stick up the countries demand for food. This ends up leading to a very shrill shortage of food and the countries end up depending on food aid from some other countries. Since agriculture as pointed out preceding is the mainstay of most economies, it means and so means that even the economy is greatly affected (Chaminuka P., Anim F., Debustus L. K. & Nqangweni S. 2-8).In Africa, at that place is a senior high school aim of analphabetism and this affects their ability to compete for work on both the local and the international level. This has eternally been so since the independence era of most countries such that most of the policies vex in place were aimed at reducing the level of illiteracy that was there. Since most of these policies failed it means that the problem was still prevalent even forwards the onset of the disease. This problem was make even worse, by the presence of HIV/AIDS through the impact it has on the teaching method sector.When th e disease hits a family, there is need to use all the resources available in taking care of the patient and withal in the funeral expenses, in case the person dies. The step-down in specie for use in the house leads to a reduction in the previously experienced expenses. The most reduced expenses are consumption on some of the basic needs that are deemed disposable. These basic needs normally complicate clothing and teaching method. The coin to cater for the inculcate uniform and for school fees is used in health care of the patient and hence leads to first gear education and in the long run an step-up in the rank of illiteracy (http//www.avert.org).Education is overly affected when both parents die of the disease and this is very common. It then means that some or all of the children end up move out of school so as to take care of themselves and as well the juvenile ones. If the parents are still alive just suffering from the disease, the children, peculiarly the womanly children, chuck out of school so as to take care of the parents.The lack of education means that the majority of youngsters are only able to get menial manual(a) billets. They are unable to get technical jobs that need skills because they bewilder not versed them in school. It ends up make the state of matter look for expatriates to do the jobs that could provoke been make by local peck if they had the skills.This impacts on the economy negatively because the expatriates demand for more bills than what would have been pay to the locals if they were the ones occupied in the same capacity. This ends up optical aberration the resources available because the amount of money used in salaries for the expatriates reduces the pay that could have been made. In other words, the get are not maximised.The low levels of education in addition lead to a lot of unemployment because the manual jobs can be do through the technologies introduced. The manual employees end up replaced by the machines increasing unemployment level. The high set up of unemployment leads to lack of consumption of goods and function because the stack do not have money to spend (http//www.avert.org).The go down in labor also affects the foreign direct investment. This is because the demand for labor sires higher than the supply. This leads to an join on in wages and the necessity for the use of expatriates. The foreign direct investment is all important(p) in the improvement of the economy provided the foreign investors can only be attracted if there is a chance of reservation profits. For the profits to be made, the resources required must(prenominal) be available at the borderline costs possible. formerly labor, which is one of the resources, becomes in addition expensive to enable the go with maximize its profits, the investors tend to shy away from the country. This means that the one of the various avenues through which the country can be able to improve its economy has been affected.The various companies that have been put up also make a lot of losses leading every to closure due to reduced profits or the company may not close down but the profits being made are affected. This is because of the extend costs caused by the diversion of the creative resources towards health care, funeral benefits and also the pension fund.This is brought about by the early retirement caused by the incapacitation of the ailing workers due to poor health. The skills are also reduced as an amplification number of skilled workers succumb to the disease. This affects the company especially since resources have been used to bring the workers and they may not have get the cost by the time the person retires or dies.Businesses are also affected in that there is low productivity by workers. This is because the disease brings about an make up in the rate or absenteeism. Once the workers are constantly absent due to the necessity to seek medical care, it t hen means that the work is not done well and this affects the amount of profit that the businesses make. Furthermore, with the effect that the disease has on individual households, it leads to a reduction in the demand for the goods and operate that are provided. This leads to an increase in exanimate stock which in turn may lead to the closure of some businesses.The lack of good profits by businesses and companies affects the economy as a whole in that it affects the taxes that the government gets from the business sector. This leads to reduced revenue enhancement therefore alter the services that the government is able to provide to the citizens. This is combined with the increase in health care spending by the government.The government ends up having to buy up from both foreign and local lenders so as to be able to advert the targets of the budget that they have fixed in any given financial year. The settlement of the heavy borrowing is an increase in the rate of inflatio n. This affects each household because the money they have now purchases less than it would have before (http//www.avert.org).In the provision of health care, it has become very expensive for the individual households. This is caused by the fact that there is coarse drainage of health care workers in most of these countries. thither are in any case many people who are infected with the disease causing an increase in the workload of the healthcare workers.When this is combined with the low wages that they get, it leads to their immigrating to other areas where they can get more money for the services that they give. In order to maintain those who have been left(p)field in the service, there is need to increase their wages and this cost is pushed on to those who are seeking health care making it next to impossible for them to acquire it especially the HIV/AIDS patients.There is also a problem of having a bulky number of infected health care workers, this is because a major cause o death in the industry and so depleting the number of workers further. This combined with the other two factors are a cause of increase in the cost of attainment of healthcare.This affects households by reducing the amount of income that can be used for consumption thus affecting the economy. The hospital resources are also down the stairs strain because the disease is chronic yet the numbers of HIV/AIDS patients that are using the hospitals resource are more than those who are suffering from other diseases.The death of income earners in the various households means that the children who are orphaned become dependants on other income earners. This is if they do not become the heads in their houses. The increase in dependants on the income earners leads to less income used for consumption. There are now more people who depend on the same income thus reducing the real income of the household. There is also the reduction of customers that a business can get because the same amount o f money that was initially used by one household is now being used by two households.Also, the increase in amount of dependants on the few income earners who are now available leads to depletion of nest egg. Since the income earned cannot be enough to sustain the increased number of dependants, the income earner is forced to use up the saving that they had kept aside. Since nest egg and investments go hand-in-hand, it means that the rate of investment is also affected. There is less investment by households and also the various businesses because decreased savings causes an increase in the interest rate of borrowing. The decreased rate of investment affects employment.The income earners usually have to quit working because they have to take care of the ill. This especially affects the female income earners because they have to take care of the family. The female workers and students may end up adequate commercial sex workers which is a job description that is not taxed by the gov ernment. In other words, it means that the number of taxpayers has reduced yet the number of workers has increased. By becoming commercial sex workers, they increase their chances of catching the disease and dying thus continue the vicious cycle of poverty.The increase in the work load of caregivers affects their output in their various workplaces. The women who work in industries are unable to produce at optimum level because of increased absenteeism at work. This reduces the amount of income that they get since their working hours are greatly reduced. They may also be fire because they end up becoming a liability to the company because the cost of maintaining them as workers becomes too high for the company. This leads to a decrease in the amount of money that can be spent by the household on consuming. Furthermore with reduced income, there is reduced saving since all the money earned goes directly to consumption.The assets that people own end up being interchange in order to acquire word for the sick. Even after death of the sufferers, there are still funeral expenses and hence further sale of the assets. The households are then left very poor with nothing to fall out back on especially at once the income earners in the household succumb to the disease. Since the savings have already been used up, there is no way that the households can domesticise their previous economic status and this increases the rate of poverty. In other words, there is an increase in the amount of poor people in the continent (http//www.avert.org).The households which have been affected by the disease end up depending on other households. They become a burden to them and cause an increase in the debts that these people have. These debts are even made worse by the fact that there are high chances of the income earners losing their employment. To avoid this, the old(a) children end up becoming laborers to support their families. This has changed the composition of workers to having more children than adults in the labor force. Since the children are unable to be as productive as the adults they are paid poorly. This pushes them further into poverty.Work citedAVERT. The Impact of HIV/AIDS on Africa. Retrieved on twenty-ninth November 2007 from http//www.avert.org/aidsimpact.htmChaminuka P., Anim F., Debustus L. K. & Nqangweni S. impact of HIV&AIDS on Agriculture and nutrient Security. The Case of Limpopo Province in southernmost Africa 2006 FANRPAN pg 2-8