Survival strategies of HIV/AIDS – affected households in Soweto

Figures & data

Table 1: Household survival strategies

Strategies aimed at alleviating the loss of income	Strategies aimed at surviving the financial cost	Strategies aimed at alleviating the loss of labour	Strategies aimed at using safety networks
Encouraging employed people to join the household	Utilising savings	Reallocating household labour	Inter-household care and psycho-social support
	Disposing of assets
Diversifying income	Borrowing	Encouraging non-employed members to look for work	Inter-household financial support
Remaining at work until the person can no longer work	Taking children out of school	Withdrawing children from school	Fostering of children
Dissolving the household	Reducing consumption	Working extra hours	Transfers in from relatives and non-relatives
	Begging
Doing nothing	Adjusting household size and composition		Coping with discrimination
	Applying for state assistance

Table 2: Annual household income by source (rand, mean adult equivalent)

	Affected households (61)	Non-affected households (52)
Regular income
Earned	7 540	10 940
Non-market sources	4 527*	1 604
Irregular income
Property, investment	227	53
Non-market sources	509	407
As a result of death	1 703	145
Total	14 556	13 149
*Of which R4381 (96.7 per cent) comprised social grants.

Table 3: Frequency of income reducing effects (number of households)

	Affected households (61)	Non-affected households (52)
Sick member absent from work	17	4
Caregivers absent from work	9	1
Loss of employment	12	1
Loss of social grant	9	1

Table 4: Annual expenditure patterns of sample households (rand, mean adult equivalents)

	Affected households (61)	Non-affected households (52)
Regular expenditure	7 788	8 541
Basic essentials	5 336	5 486
Irregular expenditure	3 245	1 603
Health care	341	32
Funerals	1 883	355
Total expenditure	11 033	10 144

Table 5: Financial situation as at September 2002 (rand, mean)

	Affected households (61)	Non-affected households (52)
Indebtedness	13 309	7 871
Savings	177	234
Value of marketable assets	45 536	46 492

Table 6: Frequency of use of financial strategies (per cent of households)

	Affected households (61)	Non-affected households (52)
Borrowing	64,7	50,9
Dissaving	11,8	33,9
Selling assets	10,3	3,4