AIDS and South Africa: The Social Expression of a Pandemic

by K. Kauffman, D. Lindauer

Overview

The HIV/AIDS pandemic striking South Africa is of historic proportions. More people are living with AIDS in South Africa than in any other country in the world. Just in the past decade, the life expectancy in South Africa has dropped from 67 to 43 years. The social and economic impact of this disease is hard to overstate. However, what is striking is the paucity of thoughtful, reflective scholarship and writing on the subject. AIDS and South Africa: The Social Expression of a Pandemic addresses the economic, social and cultural impact of HIV/AIDS as it relates to South African society.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781403932563
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan UK
Publication date:	12/19/2003
Edition description:	2004
Pages:	195
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.02(d)

About the Author

CLAUDIA C. BERMUDES RIBIERO DA CRUZ Partner, Consumer Insight Agency JEFFREY D. LEWIS Economic Advisor in the International Trade Department and the Prospects Group in the World Bank MARILYN MARTIN Director of Art Collections for Iziko Museums of Cape Town, South Africa HOWARD PHILLIPS Associate Professor in the Department of Historical Studies, Faculty of Humanities, at the University of Cape Town, South Africa JEFFREY D. SACHS Director of The Earth Institute, Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University, USA SONIA ERLICH SACHS Pediatrician interested in pediatric issues in developing countries, especially childhood malaria and AIDS orphans VIRGINIA VAN DER VLIET Social Anthropologist, South Africa CAL VOLKS Director of the HIV/AIDS Unit at the University of Cape Town, South Africa DIANA CHAPMAN WALSH President of Wellesley College, USA

Table of Contents

Too Poor to Stay Alive; S.E.Sachs & J.D.Sachs Why is South Africa the HIV Capital of the World? An Institutional Analysis of the Spread of a Virus; K.D.Kauffman HIV/AIDS in the Context of South Africa's Epidemic History; H.Phillips South Africa Divided Against AIDS: A Crisis of Leadership; V.van der Vliet Assessing the Demographic and Economic Impact of HIV/AIDS; J.D.Lewis HIV/AIDS in South Africa: Can Art Make a Difference?; M.Martin From Policy to Practice: The Anthropology of Condom Use; C.C.Bermudes Ribero Da Cruz The Role of Tertiary Institutions in the HIV/AIDS Epidemic; C.Volks Afterword: Challenges and Lessons; D.L.Lindauer & D.Chapman Walsh

Editorial Reviews

'In many fundamental ways this volume reflects both the approach and the spirit needed to address the challenge of HIV/AIDS in South Africa. There will not be one solution to the AIDS pandemic. We need to fight this battle on many fronts. We need to understand the politics, both nationally and internationally, that have conditioned the thus far inadequate response to HIV/AIDS. We need to anticipate the economic consequences of the epidemic and to prepare for them. We need to understand individual behaviour, especially of our youth, that puts too many at risk. We need to promote the activism required for change. This volume addresses these critical elements.' - Desmond M. Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus

'Sociologists, political scientists and anthropologists demonstrate the varied social forces that make the spread of Aids so much a part of the environment. Innovative essays suggest the way in which Aids denial is part of the dominant political discourse of the country, while a few examine how HIV/Aids has become an artistic metaphor'. - Anthony Egan, Mail & Guardian Online

From the Publisher