Praxis Paper 13. The Organisational Impacts of HIV/AIDS on CSOs in Africa: Regional Research Study

The survival of many civil society organisations throughout Sub-Saharan Africa is threatened by HIV/AIDS, but few are taking it seriously. Rick James, author of a new report on AIDS in the workplace, concludes that HIV costs development agencies considerably more money to do significantly less work.

Research undertaken in Malawi, Uganda and Tanzania in 2005 revealed that at least one staff member had died of AIDS in more than 60 per cent of responding CSOs. HIV/AIDS leads to rising medical, funeral and pension costs for CSOs – increasing staff bills by seven per cent and reducing productivity by ten per cent per year, according to research estimates.

The predictions for many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa is that the impact of HIV/AIDS will get worse. This paper argues that immediate and proactive response from all stakeholders is necessary to avert a crisis for many CSOs.