How does HIV/AIDS affect African economies?
In addition to the impact of HIV/AIDS on particular businesses, HIV/AIDS can influence national economies. Such an impact can be particularly devastating to the objective of increasing investment, for investors seldom invest in countries with declining economies ( Table 2). Various methodological issues and features of developing country economies make detection of macroeconomic impacts difficult. Initial studies regarding the potential impact of HIV/AIDS on macroeconomic growth have generally not been conclusive, with some studies in Botswana13 and Tanzania14 showing that the change in per capita income would be minor. However, as the epidemic has progressed, economists have tended again to raise questions about the potential macroeconomic impacts of HIV/AIDS. A Kenyan analysis indicated that HIV/AIDS would produce a significant impact, with predictions that HIV/AIDS would leave the Kenyan economy one-sixth smaller than it would have been in the absence of HIV/ AIDS15. A study of Afri
