EFFECTS OF HIV/AIDS PREVALENCE ON YOUTH’S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: A CASE OF NYANCHWA LOCATION, KISII COUNTY

Abstract

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to investigate effects of HIV/AIDS prevalence on youth’s economic development. The specific objectives of the study were; to find out the causes of HIV /Aids among the youth of Nyanchwa location Kisii County, to determine the rate of HIV/Aids spread among the youth of Nyanchwa location Kisii County, to establish the effects of HIV /aids on the economic growth among the youth of Nyanchwa location Kisii County and to find out the solution of HIV /AIDs on youth economic growth among the of Nyanchwa location Kisii County. The study will be of significance to the youth especially those of Nyanchwa location as they will get relevant information to guide then in decision making as well as prevention and control of HIV/Aids pandemic and also the society will benefit from this research as the information will be key in enabling societal development both socially and economically. The study was based on theory of planned behavior which predicts an individual’s intention to engage in a behavior at a specific time and place and social learning theory which looks at human behavior as a continuous interaction between cognitive, behavioral and environmental determinants. The study adopted a descriptive research design where questionnaire was the main data collection instrument and the sample size was 20 respondents. The findings from the study revealed that there are various main causes of HIV/AIDs among youths and they have direct impact on their economic development, among the main factors are religion beliefs, poverty, pressure related to belief and Social pressures. Also, there are many factors that contribute to the rate of spread of HIV/AIDs among the youth. These factors are; drug abuse, misconception on spread of HIV/AIDS, delinquent behaviours and socio-cultural norms. The study recommends counselling on HIV/AIDS to be emphasized not only to the infected but also to the families or people handling the HIV/AIDS victims. The study also recommends that low-income earning youth should be encouraged to engage in income generating activities or attend training in order to expand their skill thus betterment of their chances of getting employed or to help them operate their business profitably. Finally, based on the findings that HIV/AIDS is rapidly spreading among the couples than the singles, the study recommends that measures effective measures to be taken to stop the spread because it leads to more youths getting