"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

This research captures a detailed exposition of an investigation into knowledge sharing in HIV/AIDS non-government organisations in South Africa. HIV/AIDS is a global challenge and one of the most severe problems facing our world today. South Africa is home to the largest population of people living with HIV/AIDS in the world. Knowledge management, and more specifically knowledge sharing, has been identified as a key area of focus that could be deployed to solve this problem. Despite the large number of NGOs that address HIV/AIDS in South Africa, very little research has focused on understanding this group of organisations. As such, this qualitative research contributed to the literature by examining the context in which South African NGOs work and develop an argument about the factors that influences knowledge sharing in HIV/AIDS NGOs in South Africa. A literature review provides an overview of the main contexts in which knowledge sharing has arisen. The literature shows that despite its importance for HIV/AIDS NGOs in South Africa, there is no framework which addresses intra-organisational knowledge in this context. It is an area that has received very little research attention, yet is of increasing importance in the light of the HIV/AIDS crisis in South Africa. This motivated the researcher to formalise, refine and validate a framework to address this issue. The research has resulted in a number of contributions to knowledge and benefits for the NGO involved. A key contribution is the development of a knowledge sharing framework that has been evaluated by HIV/AIDS NGO practitioners and internationally recognised knowledge management experts that can be used to support intra-organisational knowledge sharing in HIV/AIDS NGOs in South Africa. This framework consists of the identification of knowledge sharing component drivers required for effective knowledge sharing with the HIV/AIDS NGO and a method for implementation based on a knowledge sharing process. The research has also identified areas where there is a significant scope for further research and investigation.

Thesis (MPhil (Sociology and Social Anthropology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study gives us insight into the daily lives and battles for survival of poor women in an age of HIV/AIDS in rural areas of the Western Cape, South Africa. I set out to get an understanding of the shortcomings of the current interventions aimed at combating HIV and AIDS. Soon after I commenced my fieldwork I realised that it is the socio-economic circumstances of the people I encountered that was mostly responsible for their HIV positive status or the reason why they are living with HIV/AIDS rather than the choices they make. However, most of the interventions aimed at combating the global HIV/AIDS epidemic focuses on behavioural interventions or the provision of medical care. By entering the spheres in which women living with HIV/AIDS live their daily lives I aimed to get a better comprehension of the challenges they encounter and why the interventions that focus on behaviour and medical treatment fail to address the needs of these women. In doing so I learned about their struggles to merely stay alive and that protecting yourself against a disease like HIV/AIDS can appear as a luxury. A luxury you cannot afford when your only means of an income is your body which you need to barter in exchange for money or food and shelter. I learned about their powerlessness in protecting themselves against the disease and the loneliness they have to endure once they learn they are infected with the virus. In addition to this, it also came to my attention that their conditions of poverty are of such an extent that even ‘free’ medical treatment can sometimes be too expensive for them to afford because of hidden costs such as transport. At the end of my study it was my conclusion that we need to pay more attention to the root causes of the spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in order to combat it successfully, also at the entry levels of the healthcare system. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die studie bied insig in die daaglikese lewens en stryd om oorlewing van arm vroue in ‘n tyd van MIV/VIGS in die landelike gebiede van die Wes-Kaap, Suid-Afrika. Ek het die studie begin met ‘n poging om die tekortkominge van die huidige intervensies om MIV/VIGS te bekamp beter te verstaan. Kort nadat ek met my veldwerk begin het het ek reeds tot die besef gekom dat die die sosio-ekonomiese omstandigehede die oorsaak is dat die vroue met die virus leef, eerder as die keuses wat hulle vrywilliglik maak. Ten spyte van my bevinding fokus meeste intervensies tans op gedragsveranderinge en mediese behandeling. Ek het die lewensruimtes van hierdie vroue binnegegaan in ‘n poging om die daaglikse uitdagings te verstaan, asook die redes hoekom die huidige intervensies nie hierdie vroue se behoeftes aanspreek nie. Deur dit te doen het ek geleer hoe dit as ‘n luuksheid beskou kan word om jouself teen infeksie met die virus te beskerm. ‘n Luuksheid wat jy nie kan bekostig indien jou lyf jou enigste bron van inkomste is wat jy moet gebruik om geld mee in te win of kos en woonplek te verseker nie. Vroue is dikwels magteloos om hulself teen infeksie met MIV/VIGS te beskerm en die eensaamheid waarmee hul moet saamleef wanneer hul wel met die virus ge-infekteer is. Dit het ook onder my aandag gekom dat die armoede van so ‘n aard is dat selfs ‘gratis’ mediese behandeling soms onbekostigbaar is as gevolg van versteekte kostes, soos vervoer. Aan die einde van my studie was dit my gevolgtrekking dat daar meer aandag geskenk moet word aan die oorsake wat aanleiding gee tot die verspreiding van die MIV/VIGS epidemie indien ons dit suksesvol wil bekamp, ook op die intreevlakke van die gesondheidstelsel.

Thesis (MPhil (Industrial Psychology. Africa Centre for HIV/AIDS Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH SUMMARY: The study sought to investigate adherence for people living with HIV who are on ART. Since high levels of adherence of more than 95% are required to achieve the durable suppression of the viral load, the researcher finds it very important to find out whether the people are doing what is expected of them. While the rollout of antiretroviral (ARV) therapy has brought much excitement and hope to both patients and practitioners in South Africa, it has also brought many new questions and challenges, including adherence. Adherence is therefore very crucial to the success of ART. The research sought to investigate adherence in resource-poor settings. The research was conducted on patients attending Ithembalabantu clinic in Umlazi, Durban, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa. Respondents were recruited as they come to the clinic to collect their medication. Triangulation of qualitative and quantitative research was used to collect data in the study. The quantitative data involved 90 questionnaires. The qualitative data involved 15 semi structured interviews. The results indicated that adherence to ART is very high and satisfactory among the sample population with 79% who never skipped or missed their medication and 64% who indicated that they followed their specific schedule all the time; and 88% of the respondents were aware of the dangers of sleeping without a condom more especially while on ART. The results showed that there is a very high level of condom usage among the sample population. The respondents from the in-depth interviews indicated that participants are not affected by the factors that lead to poor adherence. The only problem that needs urgent attention is the importance of the knowledge of viral load and CD4 count. The participants seemed to be confused by the two and most of them did not know why they are measured. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie het gepoog om vlakke van getrouheid aan volgehoue deelneming te ondersoek onder MIV positiewe persone wie antiretrovirale terapie (ART) ontvang. Omdat hoë vlakke van getrouheid van meer as 95% nodig is om duursame suppressie van die virale lading to bereik, voel die navorser dat dit baie belangrek is om uit te vind of persone doen wat van hulle verwag word. Terwyl die uitrol van ART opgewondenheid en hoop vir beide pasiënte en praktisyne in Suid-Afrika gebring het, het dit ook baie nuwe vrae en uitdagings gebring, getrouheid ingesluit. Getrouheid is dus beslissend vir die sukses van ART. Die navorsing het gepoog om getrouheid in hulpbron-swak areas te ondersoek. Die navorsing is uitgevoer op pasiënte wat die Ithembalabantu kliniek in Umlazi, Durban, Kwazulu Natal, Suid-Afrika bywoon. Respondente is gewerf soos hulle na die kliniek toe gekom het om hul medikasie te kry. Triangulasie van kwalitatiewe en kwantitatiewe navorsing is gebruik om data in te samel. Die kwantitatiewe data is deur vraelyste ingesamel en die kwalitatiewe data is deur 15 semigestruktureerde onderhoude ingesamel. Die resultate het gewys dat getrouheid aan ART hoog en voldoende onder die steekproek populasie is met 79% wie nooit hul medikasie gemis het, 64% wie aangedui het dat hulle hul spesifieke skedule heeltyd volg, en 88% van die respondente is bewus van die gevaar van seks sonder 'n kondoom, veral vir persone op ART. Die uitslae wys dat daar 'n hoë valk van kondoom gebruik onder die steekproef populasie is. Die respondente in die onderhoud groep is nie deur die faktore wat tot swak getrouheid lei geaffekteer nie. Die enigste probleem wat dringende aandag benodig is die belangrikheid van kennis van virale vrag en CD4 telling. Dit het voorgekom asof die deelnemers deur die twee verwar word en meeste van hulle het nie geweet waarom hulle gemeet word nie.