Patterns of Vulnerability to AIDS Impacts in Zambian Households Esther Wiegers, John Curry, Alessandra Garbero and John Hourihan ABSTRACT Using household data from Northern Zambia, this article looks at HIV/AIDS impacts on different aspects of people’s access to food. The findings draw particular attention to the variances in vulnerability among households bur- dened by illness and orphans that are headed by men, women and the elderly. It is argued that vulnerability levels to HIV/AIDS impact differ substantially among households and implicitly expose the underlying causal conditions that enable or disable people in their responsiveness. Households affected by HIV/AIDS cannot be treated as a homogeneous group and understanding the differences in vulnerability can play an important policy role in designing targeted support. INTRODUCTION HIV/AIDS is currently the leading cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa; 25 million people are infected, of which 57 per cent are women (UNAIDS, 2004). In the Southern African Development Community mainland region alone, 13 million adults are living with HIV/AIDS, 22,000 people a week are dying from AIDS, and 5 million children are orphaned because of the epidemic (UN, 2003). In Zambia, it is estimated that 16 per cent of the population aged between fifteen and forty-nine years is HIV-positive, and that 630,000 children have been orphaned because of AIDS (UNAIDS, 2004). Yet even these numbers belie the true impact of the epidemic because a far higher percentage of non-infected people are affected directly by the presence of the disease. The burden of sickness, nursing the chronically ill, premature death, and caring for AIDS orphans is manifested in the reduction of human, financial and physical capital and the disruption of social support mechanisms for large numbers of families. Various studies have described the The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Development and Change 37(5): 1073–1092 (2006). C  Institute of Social Studies 2006. Published by Blackwell Publishing, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main St., Malden, MA 02148, USA