HITTING HOME - How households cope with the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic: A survey of households affected by HIV/AIDS in South Africa

No sector of the population is unaffected by the HIV epidemic, but it is the poorest South Africans who are most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and for whom the consequences are inevitably most severe. The average age of the AIDS-sick person in the households surveyed was 35 yearsin most cases these were breadwinners and the parents of young children. This report illustrates that in already poor households HIV/AIDS is the tipping point from poverty into destitution.

This report documents the impoverishing impact of HIV/AIDS on households and the inordinate burden of caring for AIDS-sick family members. It also documents access to and satisfaction with public services, as well as access to government financial support for AIDS-affected households.