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HIV-positive. Healthcare workers are already scarce in most African countries. Excessive workloads, poor pay and the temptation of migrating to richer countries once trained are factors that have played a role in this shortage.
Although the recent increase in the provision of antiretroviral drugs (ARVS, which significantly delay the progression from HIV to AIDS) has brought hope to many in Africa, it has also put increased strain on healthcare workers. Providing ARVs requires more time and training than is currently available in most countries for instance, in Tanzania it has been estimated that providing treatment to all those who need it would require the full-time services of almost half the existing health workforce.

The Impact on Households

The toll of HIV and AIDS on households can be very severe. Although no part of the population is unaffected by HIV, it is often the poorest sectors of society that are most vulnerable to the epidemic and for whom the consequences are most severe. In many cases, the presence of AIDS means that the household will dissolve, as parents die and children are sent to relatives for care and upbringing. A study of rural South Africa suggested that households where an adult had died from AIDS were four times more likely to dissolve than those where no deaths had occurred. Much happens before this dissolution takes place; AIDS strips families of their assets and income-earners, further impoverishing the poor.

Household Income

In Botswana it is estimated that, on average, every income earner is likely to acquire one additional dependent over the next ten years due to the AIDS epidemic. A dramatic increase in destitute households those with no income earners is also expected. Other countries in the region are experiencing the same problem, as individuals who would otherwise provide a household with income are prevented from working by HIV and AIDS either because they are ill themselves or because they are caring for another family member who is. Such a situation is likely to have repercussions for every member of the family. Children may be forced to abandon their education and in some cases women may be forced to turn to sex work ('prostitution'). This can lead to a higher risk of HIV transmission, which further exacerbates the situation.
Another study in three countries, Burkina Faso, Rwanda and Uganda, has calculated that AIDS will not only reverse progress in poverty reduction, but will increase the percentage of people living in

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