When AIDS meets poverty

This book is the fifth in the AWLAE series. The AWLAE titles address the issue of gendered impacts of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. The present book is based on research in a village in Tanzania about the role of social capital in mitigating AIDS impacts, at the level of the household and within the local community. It contributes to the current knowledge base on social capital by questioning general assumptions on the role of social capital in rural livelihoods in a context of high HIV/AIDS prevalence. Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, the research yielded empirical evidence about the limitations of social capital as a resource for the poor. Both the generation and sustenance of social capital at household level are severely challenged by declining access to other livelihood assets as a consequence of HIV/AIDS. In a situation where HIV/AIDS is still shrouded in secrecy and stigma at the community level, a decline of trust in social relations and community institutions as well as a proliferation of witchcraft accusations, could be observed. This insightful publication provides a timely contribution to the discourse on the significance of social capital for the poor, ensuring that social scientists will never look at social capital in quite the same way.