That the HIV and AIDS epidemic is fuelled by structural injustices is not a new discovery. Several studies reveal the link between the HIV transmission and the spread of the epidemic and the structural inequalities created by human beings themselves in terms of economic and political structures sustained by the patriarchal socio-cultural and religious beliefs systems. In most African rural contexts, faith communities have the potential to alter the course of the epidemic given their moral authority in community and their direct connection with people. However, they are seldom theologically equipped to address the structural inequalities that fuel the spread of HIV and AIDS. This study critically analyses the specific factors driving the HIV and AIDS epidemic in Burundian context and the challenge that they pose to the Burundian Pentecostal churches‘ theology of mission. The study argues that Burundian Pentecostal churches are not responding the epidemic as they should because their responses are informed by a theological framework of mission that was elaborated in the early years of the 20th century and which was responding to theological and social questions quite different to the questions raised by the current HIV context. To overcome this theological irrelevancy that has led to a failure to respond to the political, socio-economic, and cultural factors that fuel the spread of HIV infection, the study suggests that there is a need to adopt a theological framework rooted in a holistic understanding of the mission of the church in the world as defined by the concept of missio Dei. The practical implication of this theological framework is that it challenges faith communities in general and Burundian Pentecostals in particular to become transforming agents not only interested in right relationships between God and humans but also committed to the transformation of political, economic, socio-cultural and religious structures that sustain unequal relationships between humans and between humanity and the rest of creation. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

According to the 2012 UNAIDS global report, sub-Saharan Africa hosts 69% of the world’s total population living with HIV, South Africa being the most affected with a reported 24% incidence rate. To date, extensive research is being conducted globally, particularly involving anti-HIV treatment that targets the retroviral enzymes: reverse transcriptase, integrase and protease. The discovery of inhibitors to HIV protease which disrupts virion protein assembly has made this enzyme a prime target of anti-retroviral therapies, thus there exists a concerted research initiative to identify compounds with HIV protease inactivation potential. This study employs HIV protease that is isolated and purified from a genetically modified HIV protease overexpressing Escherichia coli strain to monitor the inhibitory capacity of new lead compounds. Optimized growth conditions for HIV protease production displayed that the use of chemically defined media resulted in higher yields of the enzyme. Recent research studies have shown that peptide-based cage and glycosylated compounds displayed HIV protease inhibitor activity in cell free enzymatic reactions that are comparable to commercially available HIV protease inhibitors. However, in contrast it has also been reported that these inhibitors are inactive in whole T-cell assays, when employing HIV infected CD4 cells. It is a well-known fact that potential new chemical entities that do not possess oral bioavailability, in terms of their absorption properties, are not successful candidates within the drug discovery industry. Following this, the current study was designed to determine if inefficient membrane permeability of these promising anti-HIV protease lead compounds could result in their inactivity in whole T-cell assays. Two different methods were considered, a cell-based method using the Madin Darby Canine Kidney strain I (MDCKI) cell line and a non-cell based method, the parallel artificial membrane permeability assay (PAMPA). MDCKI cells have been extensively used to form monolayers that mimic human intestinal membranes whilst the PAMPA utilizes an artificial lipid membrane composition on a filter support. Data from permeability assays using the novel chemically synthesized inhibitors have been compared to commercially available drugs, antipyrine, metoprolol and caffeine, which displayed efficient membrane permeability characteristics, thereby validating the assay. The results indicated that novel cage-derived and glycosylated peptide inhibitors do not possess sufficient passive diffusion properties which may explain their inactivity in whole T-cell assays. / M.Sc. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2014.

<p>The school environment presents a valuable opportunity for the identification, monitoring and support of children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS and poverty. Many children are caring for parents suffering from AIDS related illnesses and/or they are the main breadwimnner of the household. As a reult of HIV/AIDS and poverty therefore, children might be dropping out of school, or their ability to performadequately at school might be significantly reduced. The main aim of this study was to use a case study approach to explore and describe support provision in a South African formal school, examining in particular, the relative significance of leadership, organisational development and gender-related matters in addressing the needs of children made vulnerableby HIV/AIDS and poverty.The availability and quality of this support is analysed within the context of the Western Cape Education Department (WECD) transforming itself from a system focussed on controlling schools to a system focused on supporting schools.</p>

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The school environment presents a valuable opportunity for the identification, monitoring and support of children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS and poverty. Many children are caring for parents suffering from AIDS related illnesses and/or they are the main breadwimnner of the household. As a reult of HIV/AIDS and poverty therefore, children might be dropping out of school, or their ability to performadequately at school might be significantly reduced. The main aim of this study was to use a case study approach to explore and describe support provision in a South African formal school, examining in particular, the relative significance of leadership, organisational development and gender-related matters in addressing the needs of children made vulnerableby HIV/AIDS and poverty.The availability and quality of this support is analysed within the context of the Western Cape Education Department (WECD) transforming itself from a system focussed on controlling schools to a system focused on supporting schools. / South Africa

Thesis (MTh)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / NO ABSTRACT / INTRODUCTION: All over the world there are millions of desperate people who seek refuge in other countries and so these countries are all affected by the situations of refugees. These people we call “refugees” are human beings who leave their countries and cross borders to find a place to secure their lives. The realities of the refugees are at the same time global, regional or local. They are in fact treated differently depending on the policies of the countries of refuge though they might, to some extent, be treated in the same ways according to the UNHCR charter. Whilst they run for their lives, they face all other challenges of life that affect the globe and the countries of refuge.

Thesis (DTh)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis deals with the concept of Ũtugi in relation to the HIV and AIDS pandemic and its contribution to the ecclesial praxis of the Anglican Church of Kenya. The thesis scrutinizes the HIV and AIDS context in Kenya, examines the origins, the nature, the characteristics and the definition of Ũtugi and its role in socio-economic, political, cultural, moral and religious life of the Agĩkũyũ community in Central Kenya and assesses the ecclesial praxis of the Anglican Church of Kenya. This concern is prompted by the need for the Anglican Church of Kenya to marshal Ũtugi (traditional resources) to complement Christian hospitality (church resources), to enhance human dignity of PLWHA and to fight the HIV and AIDS pandemic. By employing a hermeneutical tool as a praxis approach to pastoral care and counselling to interpret theological and assess the Agĩkũyũ cultural concepts and using a non-empirical research method (a qualitative research) based on conceptual analysis, the study explores critically the role of Ũtugi within the context of HIV and AIDS and its appropriateness as a tool for pastoral care and counselling in the Anglican Church of Kenya. The study poses the following research questions: In which way can the Agĩkũyũ concept of Ũtugi be used to create a healing space? How can Ũtugi be used to reframe the prevailing ecclesiological paradigms applied by the Anglican Church of Kenya? How can Ũtugi as a cultural concept help the Anglican Church of Kenya to become relevant and contextual in her endeavour to respond to the challenges posed by the HIV and AIDS pandemic in the twenty-first century? The thesis unveils that the principles of Ũtugi can complement Christian hospitality to network and help the church to carry the burden of PLWHA, thus, enhancing their human dignity, sharing their joy and comfort, and journeying with them in their pain, sorrow and healing. It was also found that Ũtugi as a contextual model which is culturally rooted, is relevant to the Agĩkũyũ people and that it can help in transforming the existing ecclesial praxis of the Anglican Church of Kenya. Drawing from Daniël Louw's existential model for spiritual healing, the study assesses the appropriateness of Ũtugi as a model for pastoral care and counselling to PLWHA. It is revealed that Ũtugi is not only a paradigm that can augment their physical, social, psychological, economic, moral and spiritual aspects but that it has the capacity to deal with the existential threat of anxiety, guilt and shame, disillusionment and anger, despair and doubt, helplessness and vulnerability. Thus it can enable them to shift from their existential threats to a position of love, care, support, compassion, accommodativeness, liberation and hope. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie navorsing gaan oor die kultuur-bepaalde konsep Ũtugi met betrekking tot die MIV en VIGS - pandemie en oor die bydrae van hierdie konsep tot die kerklike gebruike en ekklesiologiese-self-verstaan van die Anglikaanse Kerk in Kenia. In die navorsing word indringend gekyk na die MIV en VIGS konteks in Kenia, en die oorsprong, aard, eienskappe en definisie van Ũtugi en sy rol in die sosio-ekonomiese, politieke, kulturele, morele en godsdienstige lewe van die Agĩkũyũ-gemeenskap in Sentraal-Kenia gekyk. Die navorsing evalueer voorts die gemeentelike bediening van die Anglikaanse Kerk in Kenia. Hierdie ondersoek is noodsaaklik gemaak deur die behoefte van die Anglikaanse Kerk in Kenia om Ũtugi (tradisionele hulpbronne) te gebruik in aanvulling tot die Christelike verstaan van gasvryheid (kerklike hulpbronne) om die menswaardigheid van mense wat met MIV en VIGS saamleef, te verhoog en die MIV- en VIGS pandemie te beveg. Die navorsing sluit metodologies aan by die hermeneutiek. Die volg 'n praktykbenadering tot pastorale versorging en berading. Dit wil teologiese konsepte en die Agĩkũyũ se kulturele konsepte interpreteer, en deur middel van kwalitatiewe, kritiese analises vir die pastorale bediening aan mense wat positief met MIV getoets is, help sorg. In die lig van konseptuele analise, word daar in hierdie hierdie studie krities gekyk na die rol van Ũtugi binne die konteks van MIV en VIGS en na die gepastheid daarvan as instrument vir pastorale versorging en berading in die Anglikaanse Kerk van Kenia. In hierdie studie word die fundamentele vraag gestel: Hoe kan die Agĩkũyũ-konsep Ũtugi gebruik word om ruimte vir heling te skep en die heersende ekklesiologiese paradigmas in die Anglikaanse Kerk in Kenia omskep word sodat dit relevant en kontekstueel kan wees in die strewe om te reageer op die uitdagings van die MIV en VIGS pandemie in die 21ste eeu? Die navorsing toon aan dat die beginsels van Ũtugi Christelike gasvryheid kan aanvul om netwerke te vorm en die kerk te help om die las van mense wat met MIV en VIGS saamleef, te help dra. Só kan hulle menswaardigheid verhoog word, in hulle vreugde en gerief gedeel word, en saam met hulle deur hulle pyn, hartseer en soeke na heling pastoraal gereis word. Daar is ook bevind dat Ũtugi as 'n kontekstuele model wat kultureel gegrond is, relevant is vir die Agĩkũyũ-mense. Dit kan inderdaad bydra en kan help om die bestaande kerklike gebruike van die Anglikaanse Kerk in Kenia te verander. Deur gebruik te maak van Daniël Louw se eksistensiële model vir christelik-spirituele geestelike heling, word die gepastheid van Ũtugi as 'n model vir pastorale versorging en berading aan mense wat positief met MIV en VIGS saamleef, evalueer. Daar is bevind dat Ũtugi nie net 'n paradigma is wat hulle liggaamlike, sosiale, sielkundige, ekonomiese, morele en spirituele lewe kan versterk nie, maar dat dit ook die vermoë het om die eksistensiële bedreiging van angstigheid, skuld en skaamte, ontnugtering en woede, wanhoop en twyfel, hulpeloosheid en kwesbaarheid, pastoraal te hanteer. Dit kan 'n verskuiwing vanaf eksistensiële bedreigings na 'n posisie van liefde, sorg, medelye ondersteuning, tegemoetkomendheid, vryheid en hoop meebring.

This thesis begins by outlining the magnitude of the HIV/AIDS crisis in the Southern African region, together with the challenges it poses to the Church in Southern Africa. The thesis will therefore reflect on a selected number of complex social issues related to the retrovirus. These issues include poverty, gender, the breakdown of family systems, orphans, stigma and discrimination. Also included is a theological reflection to the HIV/AIDS pandemic together with the related social issues. As the thesis builds up, I will develop a contextual approach to the HIV/AIDS crisis which I will also pose as a challenge for the Southern African Church to consider in its strategies in the battle against the retrovirus. In developing this contextual approach indigenous resources and assets which includes talents, skills, gifts, and values, especially those embedded in the ubuntu-hunhu way of life will be considered. Guiding this reflection and exploration into the capacity of ubuntu-hunhu way of life together with the resources and assets embedded in it and the development of the contextual approach will be the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) model. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.

M.A. / This study explores the experience of pregnancy from the perspective of HIV-positive women. To shed light on this phenomenon, the existing literature was examined and it was found that very few studies have investigated South African women’s experience in this context. Existing findings tend to focus on the day-to-day impact of HIV on a woman’s mothering role rather than on her experience of pregnancy in particular. Pregnancy can be viewed as a process of growth, during which the relationship between the mother and her baby is prepared. For most women, acceptance of pregnancy is associated with the development of an attachment to the foetus. However, the nature of emotional support received during pregnancy can affect the development of the mothers’ attachment to the baby. Moreover, a pregnancy experience is coloured by a complex of personal needs and expectations, health status, as well as emotional, psychosocial and physical circumstances. In this regard, an HIV-positive status may influence an expectant woman’s perception of her health. Generally, being HIV positive and physically healthy is experienced as a complex psychological state, where a chronic sense of uncertainty can precipitate various somatic and psychological symptoms of distress. HIV-positive individuals who experience the most distress tend to have difficulty with initiating contact with sources of support. The focal point of this study was to understand the psychological implications of pregnancy delineated by an HIV-infection, as well as the meanings that these mothers attribute to the experience. Accordingly, a phenomenological framework was adopted to investigate the lived world of the HIV-positive pregnant woman. Phenomenologically informed interviews were conducted with HIV-positive women in the last trimester of their pregnancies, with the aim of obtaining an in-depth account of their experience of pregnancy. These women all knew about their HIV status for at least three years before falling pregnant. The interviews of three of the four participants were transcribed, followed by analyses and descriptions that were guided by phenomenological principles. The findings offer a phenomenological description of themes that form part of the phenomenon of pregnancy in the face of an HIV-positive status for these women. Their experience of pregnancy was characterized by significant emotional distress fuelled by fear of disclosing their status to their children and health care staff, uncertainty about the future, as well as having significant worry about their own and the baby’s health. These mothers adopted a cautious, wait-and-see attitude toward the pregnancy and they coped by distancing themselves from negative affect. Because they did not want to burden their families, they carried much of their emotional distress on their own. HIV-positive pregnant mothers seem to be proactive in looking after their health, possibly as a result of antenatal care. However, they are vigilant about physical changes as well as markers of health, such as CD4 counts, and shifts can be anxiety provoking. Finally, pregnancy intendedness forms a significant part of the overall experience, where a pregnant mother may consider termination of an unexpected pregnancy on the grounds of her HIV-positive status. Negotiating the decision or ability to terminate, can also have an influence on the overall experience of the pregnancy. In conclusion, an overview of the findings leads to tentative recommendations that may alleviate the emotional difficulties experienced by HIV-positive pregnant women. These findings need to be viewed in conjunction with the evaluation of the strengths and limitations. Although this study has yielded some findings that can contribute toward a deeper understanding of HIV-positive women’s experience of their pregnancies, a number of additional issues have arisen as a result of these findings. There is thus a need for further research on the topic and to this end, some suggestions for future research are offered.

"The insurance industry was among the first to understand clearly the serious nature of the epidemic, as the HIV/AIDS epidemic disintegrates and destabilizes slowly the traditional extended African family system. The extended family, which traditionally constitutes a social safety net in African communities, is not able to cope with the sudden burden of HIV/AIDS orphans, since the age group 20-44 is the most hit by the epidemic. A study commissioned by the Henry Kaiser Family Foundation showed that, by the year 2005, HIV/AIDS is expected to make around one million children under the age of 15 orphans in South Africa. Besides, stigma and secrecy around the disease expose HIV/AIDS orphans to discrimination in their community and even in their extended family. As a result, a large number of HIV/AIDS orphans are abandoned and forced to seek help in the streets, begging for money, a situation that exposes them to abuse and criminality. Since 1988, most insurance companies in South Africa have had a policy of compulsory HIV testing which excludes HIV positive candidates from their scheme. The reason put forward is that they represent an 'unacceptable risk'. According to the National Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS (NAPWA), this is a widespread problem in South Africa. The impact of discrimination in getting life insurance is catastrophic on the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS and their families. As was noted by the Supreme Court of Canada in the case of Zurich Insurance Company v Ontario, there is a fundamental tension between human rights law and insurance practice. Insurance practices, particularly, impedes on equality and privacy rights of HIV positive persons. ... Therefore, at the root of the debate on HIV/AIDS and insurance is the question on how to strike a balance between the need to ensure that insurance companies extend their coverage without being financially endangered and the human and constitutional rights of HIV positive persons. ... The study is divided into five chapters. Chapter one is the introductory chapter. Chapter two examines the principles of insurance as well as the characteristics of HIV/AIDS. It aims at understanding the arguments in favour of HIV testing and exclusion of persons living with HIV/AIDS from life insurance schemes. Chapter three analyses the problem from the perspective of persons infected with HIV. It investigates the impact of the refusal to grant them life insurance because of their HIV status. This chapter shows how the insurance business infringes the rights of HIV positive persons ot non0discriminatory treatment. Chapter four looks at the position of foreign jurisdictions in the conflict of interests and analyses how they have dealt with the human rights implications of insurance companies policy towards the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Chapter five is the concluding chapter, which puts forward redommendations." -- Introduction. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2003. / Prepared under the supervision of Adv. Annelize Nienaber at the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/academic_pro/llm1/dissertations.html / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

HIV/AIDS epidemic has caused much devastation and has left many children destitute and in need of care and supervision. The present study investigated the psychological impact of caring on non-professional caregivers of HIV/AIDS orphans and children affected by HIV/AIDS. General systems theory stands as the epistemological framework informing the study. The study made use of a qualitative phenomenological approach to explore the lived experiences of eight non-professional caregivers who participated in the study .From the themes that were abstracted it was evident that caring for HIV/AIDS orphans is emotionally, physically and mentally strenuous for the caregivers. It was better recommended that caregivers be given recognition for their challenging work and be included in the planning and development of programmes that affect their caregiving role. Furthermore emotional, psycho-social, and income-generating skills support programmes including training and educational programmes should be implemented. This will alleviate the distress inherent to the caregiving role and to equip them with the necessary skills for handling the demands of their work. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)