Adapting to AIDS in Zambia: why are some communities more resilient?

In Zambia, a high proportion of people aged between 15 and 44 are HIV-positive: 13 percent in rural areas and 25 percent in urban areas. The social and economic effects of AIDS are long-term, affecting both urban and rural communities. However, what makes some groups vulnerable and others resilient to these effects?

This studyexplored the impacts of AIDS-related deaths on livelihoods in Zambia. Theirstudy is unique in its use of ‘clusters’ rather than just households. Theseclusters are groups of people, usually related, who are involved in exchangesof resources including food, labour and/or common access to draught power (livestock).

The study collectedobservations over a long period of 12 years, from 1993 to 2005. It focused ontwo locations: Mpongwe, near the Copperbelt towns, and Teta, a remote ruralarea. The researchers, some of whom lived locally, included agronomists,nutritionists, social scientists, health staff and soil scientists. They usedparticipatory methods such as community meetings and in-depth interviews togather information.

The team foundthat factors affecting resilience included: length and degree of incapacity dueto AIDS; type of person(s) who had died, with primary producers of food likelyto leave behind a vulnerable cluster; the type of people in a cluster, withfemale-headed households and dependent producers most vulnerable; the healthstatus of a surviving spouse; and opportunities for livelihood and agriculturalproduction. Analysis showed that:

• AIDS-related deaths affected 18 of the35 clusters in Mpongwe and 14 out of 19 clusters in Teta over the sameperiod
• a policy of intensified maizeproduction in Mpongwe had led to some increased yields but only for thewealthier, while all clusters had experienced adverse effects
• the Teta clusters, which showed fewer adverseeffects, had changed to a lower input, with less reliance on maize and areturn to more traditional crops, focusing on low-input cultivation andoff-farm activities
• both Teta and Mpongwe clusters hadlost cattle due to disease, but since the Teta clusters had lowerownership and access, the effects were less than in Mpongwe
• the matrilineal social system (wheredescent is traced through the maternal line) in both areas gaveindividuals flexibility and choice about their location and place of work,increasing resilience
• many people in both areas do not recognisethe link between HIV and AIDS, and traditional belief systems remain strong,preventing changes in sexual behaviour.

The researchersnote the benefits of cluster analysis for understanding the network of relationshipswhich affect resilience. They call for a broader definition of vulnerabilitythat is not just AIDS-related. They stress that strong social networks arevital for building resilience and conclude that:

• food security policy should focus onlocal knowledge and diversification of crops
• diversification within and outsideagriculture contributes to resilience because it allows farming systems toadjust according to the availability of labour
• programmes should target resource-poorclusters or groups rather than poor households
• HIV protection messages need to targetpeople who can influence behaviour, which in rural Zambia means olderwomen, and take better account of local, cultural factors.