Macroeconomic impact of HIV and AIDS on the Zimbabwean economy: a human capital approach

Abstract

Zimbabwe is one of the countries severely affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The high prevalence of the disease is not only a health problem but has become an economic problem, yet little effort had previously been directed at establishing the exact magnitude of HIV/AIDS' economic impact. Using a human capital approach which measures the value of production lost as a result of HIV/AIDS - related morbidity and mortality and values an infected person's economic return to society using an individual's annual income, this article establishes that HIV/AIDS has resulted in significant output losses for the Zimbabwean economy. About 13.32% of 1993 GDP at factor cost (was lost due to HIV/AIDS in the years 1994 to 2003). The macroeconomic impact of HIV/AIDS is severe and can therefore not be ignored even if the prevalence drops to zero in the present period.