HIV/AIDS, food security and the role of the natural environment: evidence from the Agincourt health and demographic surveillance site in rural South Africa

Lori M. Hunter, University of Colorado at Boulder
Laura Patterson, University of Colorado at Boulder
Wayne Twine, University of the Witwatersrand

HIV/AIDS mortality and environmental degradation represent two contemporary phenomena shaping household well-being in rural communities of many poor nations. Yet, their intersection has received little scholarly attention. We use demographic surveillance data from rural South Africa to examine prime-age adult mortality-affected households in relation to (1) food security, (2) dependence on homestead gardens, and (3) dependence on wild local vegetation and meat. Results indicate that households directly affected by prime-age adult AIDS mortality do not differ significantly from households experiencing prime-age adult mortality unrelated to AIDS. However, mortality-impacted households, in general, are worse off with regard to food security as compared to their non-mortality-affected counterparts. The findings challenge the contention that AIDS-related mortality, per se, is a distinct household shock. Yet, the disease is nearly doubling the adult mortality rate in this setting and, therefore, poses significant threats to food security and may intensify pressure on local natural resources.