Microfinance: An Intervention for HIV/AIDS Awareness among Indian Women

• In Event: 286 - Section on Sociology of Development Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Paper Session: Section on Sociology of Development Roundtables (one-hour) Table 01. Gender and Health

Abstract

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV/AIDS) is a major health issue impacting the lives of many women and their families in India. In 2011, out of the 2.1 million infected with HIV/AIDS 39% were women (NACO 2013). As HIV/AIDS is considered ‘immoral’ and social unacceptable in the society, government and non-government developmental programs working to promote knowledge about the HIV/AIDS awareness have been slow and relatively ineffective. Intervention programs such as microfinance provide a promising medium to spread awareness about HIV/AIDS, especially as they target socio-economically disadvantaged women with an increased risk of infection.
Although the primary goal of microfinance programs is to provide microcredit and related financial services, due to their group lending practices these programs have been found to increase social networks, strengthen bonds among members, and make women more aware of social issues such as literacy, domestic violence, underage marriage, and dowry (Ajit and Rajeev 2012; Bali Swain 2006; Goetz and Sengupta 1996; Sanyal 2009). However, research on microfinance as an intervention for HIV/AIDS awareness among women in India has been limited. This paper uses national level data from NHFS-3 to examine if receiving a microloan is associated with increased awareness of HIV/AIDS. Logistic regression results indicate that women who had received a loan were 51% more likely to have heard about HIV/AIDS than women who had not received a loan, controlling for the effects of work status, education, age, marital status, religion, caste, household structure, wealth, media use, urbanization, and state of residence.

Authors

• Swati Singh, University of North Texas

• Cynthia M. Cready, University of North Texas