Talcott Parson’s initially defined “the sick role as the set of patterned expectations that defines the norms and values appropriate for individuals who are sick and for those who interact with them.”157 “According to the functionalist approach of the sick role which believes that if society is to function as a stable system”158 (which here can be the family, community or the nation at large); “it is important for the people to be healthy and to contribute to their society.”159 Parsons believe that “illness is dysfunctional for both individuals and the larger society. Those who assume the sick role are unable to fulfil their necessary social roles.”160 Similarly, those that are “ill loose days from their productive roles in society, thus weakening the ability of individuals, groups and organizations to fulfil their functions.”161 The present research relates to this school of thought in the sense that, it also looks at the gendered impact of HIV/AIDS on livelihoods of affected households. This research describes how HIV/AIDS affects various
154Hanrahan, K. (2015):383
155Hanrahan, K. (2015):383
156Hartmann, as cited in Kendall, D. (2008):375
157Kendall, D. (2008):611
158Kendall, D. (2008):611
159Kendall, D. (2008):611
160Kendall, D. (2008):611
161Kendall, D. (2008): 611
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roles in the households and the supportive role/s provided by members of the households, community and the nation at large. It further explores how HIV/AIDS affects the contribution of both the infected and affected to their households and community sustenance. The theory of the sick role in this research was useful in describing the impact of HIV on the lives and livelihoods of both the “infected and affected” with regards to meeting their daily needs and the coping mechanisms employed when HIV/AIDS sets in.
AIDS “affected households” are said to spend less time on work due to ill health and because of this, there is less income and less food in the household. “Studies have shown that sub- Saharan Africa remains one of the regions in the world that is predominantly rural, and agricultural food production remains a primary source of household and national food security.”162 And if farmers are being infected with HIV/AIDS, this will have serious consequences for rural food production, productivity and security.163 This can result in the disintegration of the family, community and the nation as food is a political commodity. Many AIDS-“affected households” currently cannot farm their lands because they do not have enough labour and they are also unlikely to rent out their land because of the fear of losing their land rights.
Globally 17,800,000 women aged above 15 years are living with HIV/AIDS and out of this 14,200,000 which is 80% of the global figure lives in sub-Saharan Africa.164 Worldwide, there are at least 1.6 billion women who live in rural areas and depend on agriculture for their livelihoods-more than a quarter of the total world population.165 “Women farmers produce more than half of all the food that is grown in the world, specifically, up to 80% in Africa and
162UNAIDS/WHO (2002):28
163UNAIDS/WHO (2002):28
164UNAIDS, (20016):14
165IFAP and Women Farmers.(accessed February, 2017):1
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60% in Asia.”166 And now that they are the most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS, this is therefore a threat to food security.
AIDS “affected households” are said to spend less time on work due to ill health and because of this, there is less income and less food in the household. This can result in the disintegration of the family, community and the nation as food is a political commodity in Sierra Leone, and its scarcity, will lead to the disintegration of the ‘whole’ which parson says is necessary for the function of the human being as well as the household and society. Many AIDS-“affected households” currently cannot farm their lands because they do not have enough labour and they are also unlikely to rent out their land because of the fear of losing their land rights.
Various researchers on HIV/AIDS167 have presented a picture on the disintegration of families and a total breakdown in the extended family system which as compared to the functionalist perspective of the ‘whole’ has in the past acted as a very strong support system that has kept families together, and the very existence of which is now questioned by HIV/AIDS.
HIV/AIDS contributes to food insecurity, especially in rural areas where the main occupation of majority of its inhabitants is agriculture, which depends mostly on manual labour especially in Serra Leone. Therefore the loss of an adult member due to HIV/AIDS, “poses a significant challenge for agricultural production”168 especially during peak farming season when there is great need for more household labour source, as every household will be occupied with their farming activities. This will consequently lead to the cultivation of either smaller farms or less labour intensive crops, which will lead to food insecurity at household, community and national level depending on the level of infected farmers and available labour saving technologies.
166IFAP and Women Farmers.(accessed February, 2017):1
167Susser, I. (2009)
168Mazzeo, J. (2011):409
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