Exploring the complexity of microfinance and HIV in fishing communities on the shores of Lake Malawi

Abstract

This study utilised qualitative research methodology to explore female fish traders’ experiences of accessing microfinance in fishing communities in southern Malawi. Microfinance is a tool that has been used to alleviate poverty. People living in fishing communities in the Global South are at an increased risk of HIV and, equally, microfinance has been identified as a tool to prevent HIV. The authors' research found consistent testimonies of overly short microfinance loan-repayment periods, enforced by the threat of property confiscation. These threats, coupled with gendered power dynamics and the unpredictability of fish catches, left some female fish traders vulnerable to HIV.

[Exploration de la complexité de la microfinance et du VIH dans les communautés de pêcheurs sur les bords du lac Malawi.] Cette étude a utilisé une méthodologie de recherche qualitative pour analyser les expériences des négociantes en poissons en matière d’accès à la microfinance dans les communautés de pêcheurs dans le sud du Malawi. La microfinance est un outil qui a été utilisé pour éradiquer la pauvreté. Les personnes vivant dans les communautés de pêcheurs dans les pays du Sud sont exposés fortement au VIH, et la microfinance a été identifiée comme un outil pour empêcher la diffusion du VIH. Les recherches des auteurs aboutissent à des témoignages concordants attestant de périodes de remboursement de prêts de microfinance excessivement courtes, imposées par la menace de confiscation des biens. Ces menaces, en plus des dynamiques de pouvoir en vigueur entre les genres et de l’imprévisibilité des captures de poissons, aboutissent à une vulnérabilité accrue de certaines négociantes en poissons face au VIH.

Keywords:

• HIV
• microfinance
• women's empowerment
• fishing communities

Mots-clés:

• VIH
• microfinance
• autonomisation des femmes
• communautés de pêcheurs

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) [grant number.CT.2006.33111.011].

Notes on contributors

Eleanor MacPherson is a Post-Doctorate Researcher at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.

John Sadalaki is a Research Manager at the College of Medicine at the University of Malawi.

Victoria Nyongopa was a Research Assistant with the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Trust in Malawi.

Lawrence Nkhwazi was a Research Assistant with the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Trust in Malawi.

Mackwellings Phiri is a Research Assistant with the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Trust in Malawi.

Alinafe Chimphonda Nyongopa was a Research Assistant with the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Trust in Malawi.

Nicola Desmond is a Senior Lecturer at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.

Victor Mwapasa is Associate Professor at University of Malawi College of Medicine.

David G. Lalloo is a Professor of Tropical Medicine at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.

Janet Seeley is Professor of Anthropology and Health at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Sally Theobald is Professor of Social Science and International Health at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The term microfinance is often used as an umbrella term for a range of financial services including micro-loans, micro-insurance and village banking. In general the term is focused on programmes that provide credit.

2. The term derives from the word kuunika, which means to light or give light. The light refers to the lanterns that are used to attract.

3. Ten men usually travel in the engine boat to parts of the lake where they believe there is a large presence of fish. The men then get into the dug-out canoes and use the lanterns to attract shoals of usipa fish to the surface and into the nets.

4. Ethical approval was obtained from the College of Medicine Research Ethics Committee, Malawi and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine Research Ethics Committee. Further, permission to work in the district and villages was provided by the chiefs of both villages as well as district-level representatives. Written informed consent was obtained from all individuals participating in the interviews and focus groups.

5. To do this, all interviews and focus groups were recorded, transcribed and translated into English by the research assistants. All transcripts were imported into NVivo 9 and the program was used to aid data analysis by coding against the framework. Data analysis began at the beginning of the data collection, continued throughout the data collection and was informed by the framework approach (Ritchie, Spencer, and O'Connor 2003) The framework approach provides a systematic structure for analysis of qualitative data using both inductive and deductive approaches and entails five stages: familiarisation, identifying a thematic framework, indexing the data, charting and mapping, and interpreting (Pope, Ziebland, and Mays 2000).