HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa is increasingly understood as a disease of poverty, inequality and marginalization.  In this conceptualization, some groups and individuals are more at risk for infection than others as a result of their place in an “environment of risk” that affects vulnerability beyond individual behavior.

This study assesses the impact of grassroots microeconomic development projects on reducing the environment of risk for adolescent orphans living in slum areas of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It looks at a group of HIV-affected adolescents who inhabit multiple vulnerabilities as a result of their age, socio-economic status, proximity to HIV/AIDS, and often their gender. Through the CAPAIDS Safe Livelihoods project, this group received vocational training and micro-finance to help reduce their vulnerability. This case study suggests that these types of projects can increase income and income security, provide alternatives to risky employment, decrease dependency, reduce community stigma, improve social networks, and raise self-esteem for participants. As a result, microeconomic empowerment is an important new tool in the battle against HIV/AIDS.

Link to full article based on my thesis research in Ethiopia here (6 pages).