摘要：

HIV has disproportionately affected economically vulnerable populations. HIV medical care, including antiretroviral therapy, successfully restores physical health but can be insufficient to achieve social and economic health. It may therefore be necessary to offer innovative economic support programs such as providing business training and microcredit tailored to people living with HIV/AIDS. However, microfinance institutions have shown reluctance to reach out to HIV-infected individuals, resulting in nongovernment and HIV care organizations providing these services. The authors investigate the baseline characteristics of a sample of medically stable clients in HIV care who are eligible for microcredit loans and evaluate their business and financial needs; the authors also analyze their repayment pattern and how their socioeconomic status changes after receipt of the program. The authors find that there is a significant unmet need for business capital for the sample under investigation, pointing toward the potentially beneficial role of providing microfinance and business training for clients in HIV care. HIV clients participating in the loans show high rates of repayment, and significant increases in (disposable) income, as well as profits and savings. The authors therefore encourage other HIV care providers to consider providing their clients with such loans.ReferencesSection:ChooseTop of pageIntroductionMethodsResultsDiscussionReferences 1.UNAIDS. Towards Universal Access: Scaling Up Priority HIV/AIDS Interventions in the Health Sector. Progress Report 2008. Geneva, Switzerland: Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS; 2008.Google Scholar 2.Sengendo J, Sekatawa E. A Cultural Approach to HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care: Uganda's Experience. Kampala, Uganda: UNESCO; 1999.Google Scholar 3.Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. HIV/AIDS and the food crisis in sub-Saharan Africa. Paper presented at: 23rd Regional Conference for Africa; March 1-5, 2004; Johannesburg, South Africa.4.Rugalema G. It is not only the loss of labor: HIV/AIDS, loss of household assets and household livelihoods in Bukoba District, Tanzania. In: Mutangadura G, Jackson H, Mukurazita D, eds. AIDS and African Smallholder Agriculture. Harare, ZI: SAfAIDS; 1999.Google Scholar 5.Yamano T, Jayne TS. Measuring the impact of working-age adult mortality on a small-scale farm households in Kenya. World Dev. 2004;32(1):91–119.Google Scholar CrossRef6.Oni A, Obi CL, Okorie A, Thabede D, Jordan A. The economic impact of HIV/AIDS on rural households in Limpopo Province. S Afr J Econ. 2002;70(7):1173–1192.Google Scholar CrossRef7.Linnemayr S. Consumption smoothing and HIV/AIDS: the case of two communities in South Africa. Econ Dev Cult Change. 2010;58(3):475–507.Google Scholar CrossRef8.Barnett TA, Whiteside A, Desmond C. The social and economic impact of HIV/AIDS in poor countries: a review of studies and lessons. Prog Dev Studies. 2001;1(2):151–170.Google Scholar 9.World Bank. Confronting AIDS: Public Priorities in a Global Epidemic. Washington, DC: World Bank; 1997.Google Scholar 10.Ngalula J, Urassa M, Mwaluko G, Isingo R, Ties Boerma J. Health service use and household expenditure during terminal illness due to AIDS in rural Tanzania. Trop Med Int Health. 2002;7(10):873–877.Google Scholar CrossRef, Medline11.Bechu N. The Impact of AIDS on the Economy of Families in Cote d' Ivoire: Changes in Compromise among AIDS-affected Households. Washington, DC: World Bank. Confronting AIDS: Public Priorities in a Global Epidemic; 1997.Google Scholar 12.Pitayanon S, Kongsin S, Janjaroen W. The economic impact of HIV/AIDS mortality on households in Thailand. In: Bloom D, Godwin P, eds. The Economics of HIV and AIDS: The Case of South and South East Asia. Delhi: Oxford University Press; 1997.Google Scholar 13.Johnson S, Schierhout G, Steinberg M, Russell B, Hall K, Morgan J. AIDS in the household. South African Health Review. Cape Town, South Africa: The Health Systems Trust; 2002.Google Scholar 14.Bachmann M, Booysen F. Health and economic impact of HIV/AI

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