Hiv/aids and rural livelihoods in Kenya.

Abstract

This article focuses on the impact of HIV/AIDS on rural livelihoods and makes some recommendations on how these can be mitigated.The article observes that HIV/AIDS has occasioned a change in the family social structure and responsibilities,food security provisions and asset accumulation patterns.In particular,HIV/AIDS has weakened one of the fundamental requirements of mutual reciprocity by limiting the range of possibilities that both infected individuals and affected households resort to as they struggle to meet their social and economic obligations.Consequently,the disruption of the social order has reduced the ability of both the affected and the infected to cope with new demands.