Aids to claim 23 percent of labour by 2020…Agriculture worst hit

15 Nov, 2015 - 00:11 0 Views

The Sunday News

ZIMBABWE has been ranked as one of the countries hardest hit by HIV and Aids in the continent, with the country expected to lose about 23 percent of its labour force by 2020, from 1985 when the first case of the disease was diagnosed.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) as cited in the Hot Spot Mapping report by the National Aids Council (NAC), Zimbabwe ranks third after Botswana and South Africa who are predicted to lose 30 percent and 27 percent of their labour respectively.

Tanzania is the least affected, with only seven percent of its labour expected to have been decimated over the period under review. The agriculture sector is predicted to suffer the heaviest brunt of the disease, with over 16 million workers in the sector predicted to have succumbed across the continent by 2020.

With agriculture still representing a large proportion of the gross domestic product in Africa, the loss in labour could have severe impacts on the national economy. The FAO predictions are, however, oblivious to improvements in intervention strategies and availability of treatment that may occur during the course of the period under review, influencing the trend of the disease’s effects on the population.

According to the Hot Spot Mapping report, in 2000, agricultural labour losses in Zimbabwe was 9,6 percent but was predicted to reach 22,7 percent in 2020.

The high morbidity and death rates, as noted in the report, affects labour quality and results in supply loss, debilitates the labour, rising of absenteeism, skills losses, efficiency and knowledge losses, accelerate staff turnover as well as morale drop which may lead to diminish the productivity.

“According to the FAO, the disease by 2020, will result in the loss of 23 percent of the labour force in Zimbabwe. Labour turnover and death result in a less experienced labour force with lower productivity leading to direct diminish of the nation`s productivity capacity.

“HIV and Aids diminishes farming production of both cash and food crops and also crop variety due to labour loss,” reads the report.

The document further points out that for commercial and business firms, HIV may cause losses in experienced and skilled labour resulting in low productivity due to shortage of labour during crucial periods. Commercial and business employers in the country are predicted to incur other employment related costs such as: rising costs of staff welfare, training, recruitment, and funerals, a development that may result in increased production costs and affect Zimbabwe’s competitiveness in terms of attracting resources.

The report notes that Zimbabwe had in the past experienced losses across all sectors as a result of the disease.
“Since 1998, manufacture output losses were 25 percent and the mining output losses was 20 percent since 1999.

The cost of Aids to National Railways was equivalent to 20 percent of the company’s profits and absenteeism cost up to Z$80 million in 1997.”

The report also notes that in the education sector the disease is said to account for close to 50 percent of the total number of primary and secondary school dropouts. Zimbabwe has over 700 000 orphaned and vulnerable children who most of whom rely on Government’s Basic Education Assistance Module (Beam) for payment of their schools.
With support towards orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) continuing on the decline due to limited state and donor funding more orphans are dropping out of school.

According to the NAC only 72 058 orphans and vulnerable children in primary and secondary school countrywide benefited from Beam during the second quarter of this year.

“HIV and Aids affects the overall management education system; 48 percent of primary and secondary school orphans drop out of schools due to the disease and death of parents. Pupils are leaving schools also in order to save on educational expenses and increase household labour but also in order to take care of sick persons,” reads the report.

The document further posits that the disease has also depleted the national supply with over
86 000 primary school children having lost a teacher in a single year.

However, Zimbabwe has over the years made significant strides in fighting HIV and Aids, managing to reduce the disease’s prevalence rate among the 15-49 years age group from 18,1 percent to 15,3 percent between 2005 and 2011.

 

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