Livelihood risk from HIV in semi-arid tropics of rural Andhra Pradesh

This paper discusses the livelihood dynamics in the fragile landscape of the semi arid tropics of Andhra Pradesh. The area is home to the poorest of the poor who live in conditions of persistent drought, subsistence agriculture and poor access to markets. This paper is a case study focusing on labour migration, and its influence on health risk behaviour of migrants and the spread of the HIV epidemic among  rural households. The most vulnerable populations in these drought prone regions are the migrant labourers, and their vulnerability is influenced by three major factors: unstable productivity in the degraded and marginal landscape; the caste system that has traditionally kept them vulnerable; and experiences in the external environment to which they migrate. This study, based on a theoretical framework in which livelihood risks lead to health risks, particularly HIV infection, outlines how further deterioration of the household and cyclical health risks occur. The paper calls for a multisectoral approach to tackle the issue of migrant vulnerability, and for interventions with a an approach more sensitive to migrant needs.