Socio- Economic Status Of Women Living With Hivaids The Case Of Members Of Dilla Medan Acts Association

The study mainly focused on exploring how women talk about and describe the impact ofrnHIV/AIDS on their lives, examining how becoming HIV positive affects a woman’s sense of selfrnand their socio-economic status. It also examined women’s roles as the care giver and thernrepercussions of that role on their socio-economic and physical well-being. Finally it looked atrnidentifying the limits of women’s coping strategies and the different structural and socialrnenvironments that facilitate or obstruct their efforts in coping up with the virus. To this end,rnqualitative research methods comprising in-depth interviews and focus group discussions werernused in the study. The data gathered using the methods above was also analyzed qualitatively.rnIt was observed that WLWHA face diverse and immense socio-economic problems resultingrnfrom HIV/AIDS. Difficulties engaging in income generating activities due to their poor healthrnstatus, the death of their husbands and the burden of responsibility for the entire family coupledrnwith the fact that many of them migrate from their home villages to Dilla town to get a betterrntreatment and help were some of the reasons they gave for their current economic problems. Thernfindings also showed that WLWHA suffered greatly from multi-dimensional problems resultingrnfrom stigma and discrimination in the society as well as from their families. The participants alsornhighlighted the difficulty of looking after their family and performing their domestic chores andrntheir contribution to their debilitating health status. The study also found that housing was arnmajor obstacle in their attempts to cope with the virus.rnIn relation to lessening the impact of HIV/AIDS on their lives, the majority of the participantsrnresponded that spirituality is the major coping strategy they use. They also claimed that the help they received from Medan Acts Association made a great contribution to their well-being. These women also reported that their children, parents, husbands and other family members’ encouragement and support, both psychologically and instrumentally helped them in coping with the virus. A few others also claimed that their adoption of good nutritional intake helped them fight illness resulting from the virus

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