A MUTUALLY REINFORCING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POVERTY AND HIV/AIDS IN UGANDA BY: AKANKUNDA BWESIGYE
DENIS
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Whereas poverty in Uganda is decades older than the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the arise of the latter has bestowed a bi-causal
relationship that is mutually reinforcing.
Research question: What are the socio-economic and demographic factors that reveal the casual relationship between poverty and HIV/AIDS in Uganda?
Objectives: 1. To draw possible recommendations on measures that could counteract the impact of the causality between “HIV/AIDS” and “poverty” in Uganda.
2. To examine the socio-economic and demographic factors associated with the link between the spread of HIV/AIDS and poverty in Uganda. Methodology: The relationship between HIV/AIDS and poverty in Uganda will be investigated across demographic characteristics in terms of explanatory, intervening and dependent variables. Explanatory variables are: ‘place of residence’, ‘gender’, ‘marital status’, ‘age’, ‘level of
education’ and ‘regions’. Wealth index (grouped as ‘very poor’, ‘poor’, ‘middle’, ‘rich’ and ‘richest’) will serve as an intervening variable and ‘HIV status’ as the dependent variable.
Findings: The ‘richest-formerly married’ are three quotas more HIV positive than the ‘never married and the ‘currently married’ by all economic status. Unlike other income groups under various levels of education, the HIV prevalence reduces with higher levels of education among the ‘richest’ (No education are 15%, Primary education are 10.3%, Secondary education are 8.7% and Post secondary education are 2.7%). Women as opposed to men are most vulnerable to HIV infection given their general low economic status.
Conclusion: Whereas HIV/AIDS is a renowned epidemic in Uganda, the hypothesis that higher infections take place among the poor is not necessarily the case. Richer individuals are more susceptible to HIV infection than their poor counterparts.
KEY WORDS: POVERTY/ HIV/AIDS/ AGE/ RESIDENCE/ EDUCATION/ SEX/ REGION/ MARITAL SATUS/ UGANDA