Household food gardens as HIV and AIDS impact mitigation response in poor urban communities in Southern Africa: an economic analysis

[摘要] HIV and AIDS impact mitigation remains a high priority for countries around the world, especially for Southern African countries where HIV and AIDS prevalence rates are high. In this region, there is increasing recognition of the need to promote interventions which mitigate the adverse effects of HIV and AIDS. Consequently, household food gardens have attracted considerable attention as an intervention strategy that can help to mitigate the impacts of HIV and AIDS. This thesis aims to examine the role of household food gardens in mitigating the impact of HIV and AIDS in poor urban communities in Lesotho, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The study employs data from a longitudinal quasi-experimental study using both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. Basic descriptive and advanced econometric methods are employed to analyse the data in view of the various study objectives. First, the results show that within the informal urban food system, household food gardens are an important component of the food supply system. Second, the results also show how the sale, remittance and bartering of surplus garden produce enhance the availability of and access to food. The final result shows that household food gardens have a positive and significant impact on household food security, both for food gardens in general and for programme gardens. The study recommends that household food garden programmes be scaled-up, not only in the context of HIV and AIDS impact mitigation strategies, but in relation to development policies in general.

[发布机构] University of the Free State