“Exploring AIDS in contemporary South Africa”

A power-point slide show for use by educators. Produced by the World

Affairs Council.

African children

10 million African children have been orphaned by

AIDS

As many as one out of every four has the virus - and will have a life cut

short because of AIDS.

As one farmer in southern Africa put it:

“Today, we are spending more time turning the bodies of the sick than we are turning the soil.”

In South Africa, 4.7 million people are

infected with H.I.V.

WHY IS THE PROBLEM SO SEVERE IN SOUTH AFRICA?

• Political reasons

• Cultural factors

• Environmental risks

• Economic conditions

• Social aspects

POLITICAL REASONS:

• The legacy of the Apartheid system left a fertile environment for HIV’s rapid spread. Under Apartheid, the state controlled the work people could have and where they could reside.

South Africa’s black population was forced into

crowded, impoverished homelands which led to the break down of traditional

cultural structures.

(Whiteside 62)

ECONOMIC CONDITIONS26-30 % unemployment rate

• Leads to high crime rates

• Increased prostitution

$ High Cost of Treating HIV/AIDS $

• Drugs for treatment are very expensive

• Health care systems are overwhelmed

Public Health Clinic

CULTURAL REASONS

• Talking openly about sex is seen as taboo.

• People with HIV/AIDS are often scorned and shunned from the community.

Thus, many are not tested, to avoid the stigma

• Some people believe that sleeping with a virgin can cure AIDS.

• Polygamy is practiced in some cultures.

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS55% of the population is urban.

• Urban life is characterized by more violent crimes, such as rape.

• Urban life, for migratory workers, also diminishes family ties and cultural supports.

45% of the population is rural• Unemployment and poverty are higher in rural areas• People lack access to basic health needs such as

clean drinking water, thus increasing the likelihood of disease.

SOCIAL ASPECTS

• South Africa has a relatively high degree of wealth

• South African Civil Society is relatively weak

• Combined, the epidemic is able to spread rapidly, without being challenged by organized social institutions or community groups.

WHAT IS BEING DONE?

Government programs & information

Public education efforts

Traditional cultural responses

Youth community groups

AIDS activists

TRADITIONAL RESPONSES

•The next slide is a traditional Xhosa healer, a sangoma

• Sangomas offer spiritual advice and traditional herbs or other treatments

•Many people are more comfortable using traditional methods and can’t afford modern medical treatments

Some activists, such as Nkosi Johnson, a frail 12-year-old with AIDS, have challenged the stigma associated with AIDS by speaking publicly about HIV/ AIDS.

“Nkosi was said to be the country's longest- surviving AIDS baby.” Feb. 4, 1989- June 1, 2001.

“His youth, his shriveled body and his strong will made him the most moving critic of the government for its delay in recognizing the epidemic and in giving mothers like his own the anti-retroviral drugs that could have kept him from becoming infected.”(NYT June 2, 2001)

Why should we care?

“the epidemic is rapidly becoming more devastating than war, in a continent where war and conflict appear to be endemic. …conflicts took the lives of 200,000 people in 1998. But HIV/AIDS took the lives of over ten times more -- 2.2 million -- in the same year.”

- from UNAIDS Statement to the Security Council 10th January 2000

“…freedom from poverty is key to security. Communities that are driven apart by disease are weak communities. Weak communities

are subject to strife.. Beating back AIDS in Africa will support

a culture of peace.”-World Bank President James Wolfensohn

THERE IS STILL HOPE:“The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying

away a small stone.”

PREVENTION: 75% of the adult

population is NOT infected

• Knowledge and Education, openness

• Condoms and other barriers to infection

• Access to health care and treatment options

• Anti-viral drugs for pregnant mothers to reduce mother to infant transmission