Under the radar

Community safety nets for Aids-affected households in sub-Saharan Africa

Dados Bibliográficos

ID19439635
AutoresG Foster (a Mutare Provincial Hospital , Mutare , Zimbabwe, autor correspondente)
Ano2007
Volume19
Fascículosup1
Páginas54-63
Data de publicação2007-01-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoAIDS Care (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0954-0121 • E-ISSN: 1360-0451
EditoraInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09540120601114469
PMID17364388
OpenAlexW2069136877
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas18
Referências citadas23

Safety nets are mechanisms to mitigate the effects of poverty on vulnerable households during times of stress. In sub-Saharan Africa, extended families, together with communities, are the most effective responses enabling access to support for households facing crises. This paper reviews literature on informal social security systems in sub-Saharan Africa, analyses changes taking place in their functioning as a result of HIV/AIDS and describes community safety net components including economic associations, cooperatives, loan providers, philanthropic groups and HIV/AIDS initiatives. Community safety nets target households in greatest need, respond rapidly to crises, are cost efficient, based on local needs and available resources, involve the specialized knowledge of community members and provide financial and psycho-social support. Their main limitations are lack of material resources and reliance on unpaid labour of women. Changes have taken place in safety net mechanisms because of HIV/AIDS, suggesting the resilience of communities rather than their impending collapse. Studies are lacking that assess the value of informal community-level transfers, describe how safety nets assist the poor or analyse modifications in response to HIV/AIDS. The role of community safety nets remains largely invisible under the radar of governments, non-governmental organizations and international bodies. External support can strengthen this system of informal social security that provides poor HIV/AIDS-affected households with significant support

Business · Community resilience · Economic growth · Economics · Environmental health · Informal sector · Poverty · Psychological resilience · Safety net · Child Nutrition and Water Access · Medicine · Microfinance and Financial Inclusion · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare · Psychology