Abstract
Researches devoted to the HIV/AIDS issue divide the scientific community between the supporters of an association socioeconomic status-HIV/AIDS and those estimating that there is no pattern between them. Studies conducted across the world’s most affected regions assert one another opinion on the basis of findings scientifically proven. In addition, some other studies argue that the link poverty-HIV/AIDS is vicious, meaning that poverty cause HIV/AIDS and vice versa. The present study conducted in Kinshasa, one of the African cities characterised by a certain level of poverty, aims at investing the potential correlation socioeconomic status and magnitude of HIV/AIDS in its specific context as well as contributes to the debate that took place in the scientific community between both mainstreams evoked previously. Although the study found no relationship between people socioeconomic status and either their sexual behaviour, HIV/AIDS knowledge (3 variables), accessibility to information or availability of condoms, as well as no statistically significant difference between socio economic groups in these mentioned variables, it estimates that it is all matter of space and time rather than pronouncing a judgement about who is right or wrong. Therefore no one is wrong, all are right.
Keywords
- HIV/AIDS Search this journal for HIV/AIDS (opens in a new tab)
- Socioeconomic Status Search this journal for Socioeconomic Status (opens in a new tab)
- Poverty Search this journal for Poverty (opens in a new tab)
- Kinshasa Search this journal for Kinshasa (opens in a new tab)
- Level of Knowledge Search this journal for Level of Knowledge (opens in a new tab)
- Sexual Behaviour Search this journal for Sexual Behaviour (opens in a new tab)
- Attitude Search this journal for Attitude (opens in a new tab)
- Information and Condoms Search this journal for Information and Condoms (opens in a new tab)
References
- Barnett, T. & Whiteside, A. (2002). AIDS, Public Policy and Child Well-Being. Chapter 11: Poverty and HIV/AIDS: Impact, Coping and Mitigation Policy. UNICEF- IRC.
- Bärnighausen, T., Hosegood, V., Timaeus, I. M. & Newell, M. L. (2007). The socioeconomic determinants of HIV incidence: evidence from a longitudinal, population-based study in rural South Africa. AIDS , 21(7), S29–S38.
- Booysen, F. R. & Summerton, J. (2002). Poverty, Risky Sexual Behaviour, and Vulnerability to HIV Infection: Evidence from South Africa. Journal of Health Population Nutrition , 20(4), 285-288.
- Gillespie, S., Kadiyala S. & Greener, R. (2007a). Is poverty or wealth driving HIV transmission? AIDS, 21(7), S5–S16.
- Gillespie, S., Greener, R., Whiteside, A. & Whitworth, J. (2007b). Investigating the empirical evidence for understanding vulnerability and the associations between poverty, HIV infection and AIDS impact. AIDS, 21(7), S1–S4.
- Kabemba, K. C. (2011). Democratisation and the Political Economy of a Dysfunctional State: The Case of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
- Khonde, C. N. (2006). An Oral History of HIV/AIDS in the Congo. The HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa in a Historical Perspective. Brussels.
- Lopman, B., Lewis, J., Nyamukapa, C., Mushati, P., Chandiwana, S. & Gregson, S. (2007). HIV incidence and poverty in Manicaland, Zimbabwe: is HIV becoming a disease of the poor? AIDS , 21(7), S57–S66.
- Mabala, R. (2006). From HIV prevention to HIV protection: addressing the vulnerability of girls and young women in urban areas. Environment and Urbanization, 18(2), 407-432.
- Meekers, D. & Rahaim, S. (2005). The importance of socio-economic context for social marketing models for improving reproductive health: Evidence from 555 years of program experience. BMC Public Health , 5(10).
- Mishra, V., Assche, S. B. V., Greener, R., Vaessen, M., Hong, R., Ghys, P. D., Boerma, J. T., Assche, A. V., Khan, S. & Rutstein, S. (2007). HIV infection does not disproportionately affect the poorer in sub-Saharan Africa. AIDS , 21(7), S17–S28.
- Price, N. (2001). The performance of social marketing in reaching the poor and vulnerable in AIDS control programmes. Health Policy and Planning , 16(3), 231-239.
- Slaymaker, E., Walker, N., Zaba, B. & Collumbien, M. (2004). Comparative Quantification of Health Risks: Global and Regional Burden of Disease Attributable to Selected Major Risk Factors Volume 2. Chapter 14: Unsafe Sex. WHO, Geneva.
- UNAIDS/WHO. (2004). Epidemiological Fact Sheet on HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections, 2004 Update.
- USAID. (2008). Democratic Republic of Congo: HIV/AIDS Health Profile. Retrieved on 15 October 2011 from http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/global_health/aids/Countries/africa/congo.htm.
- World Bank. (2008). Poverty data: A supplement to World Development indicators 2008. Washington, D.C.
Downloads
No downloads have been recorded for this article yet. Figures appear here once readers begin downloading the full text.
How to Cite
Share this article
License
Copyright (c) 2014 Christian Ayikwa, Johan W De Jager, Ben J van Rensburg (Author)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Author (s) should affirm that the material has not been published previously. It has not been submitted and it is not under consideration by any other journal. At the same time author (s) need to execute a publication permission agreement to assume the responsibility of the submitted content and any omissions and errors therein. After submission of revised paper in the light of suggestions of the reviewers, the editorial team edits and formats manuscripts to bring uniformity and standardization in published material.
This work will be licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) and under condition of the license, users are free to read, copy, remix, transform, redistribute, download, print, search or link to the full texts of articles and even build upon their work as long as they credit the author for the original work. Moreover, as per journal policy author (s) hold and retain copyrights without any restrictions.
Keywords
- HIV/AIDS Search this journal for HIV/AIDS (opens in a new tab)
- Socioeconomic Status Search this journal for Socioeconomic Status (opens in a new tab)
- Poverty Search this journal for Poverty (opens in a new tab)
- Kinshasa Search this journal for Kinshasa (opens in a new tab)
- Level of Knowledge Search this journal for Level of Knowledge (opens in a new tab)
- Sexual Behaviour Search this journal for Sexual Behaviour (opens in a new tab)
- Attitude Search this journal for Attitude (opens in a new tab)
- Information and Condoms Search this journal for Information and Condoms (opens in a new tab)
Section
Published
Submissions
Have research to publish? Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies welcomes submissions.
Make a Submission