Activities (CEDPA)

AIDS has the potential to create severe economic impacts in many African countries. It is different from most other diseases because it strikes people in the most productive age groups and is essentially 100 percent fatal. The effects will vary according to the severity of the AIDS epidemic and the structure of the national economies. The two major economic effects are a reduction in the labor supply and increased costs: Labor Supply • The loss of young adults in their most productive years will affect overall economic output • If AIDS is more prevalent among the economic elite, then the impact may be much larger than the absolute number of AIDS deaths indicate