Socio-Economic Effects of HIV and AIDS in the Development Organizations of Donga-Mantung Division

Abstract

Numerous efforts put in place in Cameroon to address the high prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS have yielded several successes in its prevention and mitigation and thus the drop of prevalence rates from 5.5% to 4.3% to 3.1% and to 2.7% from 2004 through 2018, respectively. Notwithstanding, the face of the pandemic had changed from emergency condition in intervention strategies to a long term response that focuses on development. This study titled “Socio-economic effects of HIV and AIDS in the Development Organizations of Donga-Mantung Division” set out to investigate the interplay of the socio economic effects of HIV/AIDS in the development agents of the division and their environments. The institutions were grouped in to four; Health Institutions, Agricultural Institutions, Credit and Loans Institutions and Network and Partnership Institutions. The  communities in this division do not only have one of the highest prevalence rates in the nation (11% in rural areas and urban centres 22% as shown by results of 2011 DHS of Ndu Sub- Division) but are also plagued with high gender issues. In spite of Cameroon’s participation and signatories in international and regional alliances on HIV/AIDS and gender consideration to bring the nation to emergence by 2035, policies to mainstream HIV/AIDS and gender at district and sub-district levels still remain vague and ineffective from researcher’s investigations. The research question was to find out the extent of the Socio-economic effects of HIV/AIDS in Development Organizations in Donga-Mantung division. Quantitative data was collected using questionnaires as well as focus group discussion guides with employees and members of the host communities. Four sampling techniques were used; random, systematic, cluster and stratified which led to a selection of a sample of 255 respondents from the development institutions and 350 from the host environment. Data collected was analysed and the results were as follows; there is a significant socio-economic effect of HIV/AIDS in the development organisations of Donga-Mantung division (57%) and the activities of development organizations affect the host environments negatively and positively.  The conclusions reached at, was that internally in development organizations, the socio-economic effects of HIV/AIDS was high with higher social effects (72%) than economic effects (24%). One of the reasons for these is resulting from a lack of HIV/AIDS and Gender mainstreaming. Externally, the activities of development organisations were decreasing the incidence of HIV/AIDS at the same rate they were increasing the disease in their host environments. Hence the recommendation was that proper mainstreaming of gender and HIV/AIDS needs to be done within the organisations as well as without in their host environments.