Can micro-credit empower HIV+ women? An exploratory case study in Northern Vietnam

Vietnamese women are subject to many restrictions related to gender and their position in the household that affect their ability to make strategic choices. For example, they have unequal access to capital and other resources. Studies have shown how gender inequities cause women, especially poor women, to bear the brunt of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Micro-credit through women’s groups has been reported to contribute to women’s empowerment. This raises the question of whether and how microcredit programs for women in the special circumstance of living with an HIV infection can empower these women and improve their economic status and their health. This article describes how a small group of HIV+ women in Hanoi followed over a period of two years gained in five dimensions of empowerment at the household level by micro-credit offered through a support group.