Gender dimensions of AIDS in Zambia

Abstract

This article is based on research investigating the socio‐economic impact of AIDS on poor urban households in Kitwe, Zambia. It is argued that within the household, AIDS affects women disproportionately. Women have to care for the ill and devise survival strategies when household income falls and living standards deteriorate. AIDS also has a number of other gender dimensions which are linked to women's limited access to resources and their subordinate social and economic status. Taking into account the pressures of economic crisis and structural adjustment programmes, the paper asks whether home‐based AIDS care threatens to overload the coping capabilities of women. The article argues that effective AIDS control and prevention requires a broad‐based approach aimed at women's empowerment and economic independence.