ABSTRACT
This chapter, sets in the context of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome epidemic in Kenya, discusses the literature on the economic sources of vulnerability to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) by empirically assessing how the regional agricultural context may structure risk for some individuals and groups who are systematically marginalized from access to resources. E. Gwako in his study examining the impact of land tenure on agricultural productivity among Maragoli women in western Kenya measured access rights using the percentage of plot yield in the previous season used or controlled by women. The findings that regional agricultural-consumption regimes explain women’s vulnerability to HIV over and above women’s individual-level factors underscores the importance of studying health outcomes in Africa as being enmeshed within the social, political and economic context. The findings establish that the challenges women meet as agricultural producers may contribute significantly to their vulnerability to HIV.
