<p>Background: HIV/AIDS affects the health of millions of people world wide. According to the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS [UNAIDS], the number of people living with HIV globally has risen from 26 million in 2001 to 33.2 million in 2007. It is estimated that 2.5 million people were newly infected with HIV in 2007. The introduction of anti-retroviral therapy [ART] has brought hope to millions of people living with HIV and AIDS. More recently, the increased availability of treatment in many countries including Namibia has dramatically improved survival rates and lowered the incidence of opportunistic infections among HIV patients. Adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is a fundamental attribute of excellent clinical HIV care and a key aspect in determining the effectiveness of treatment. Strict adherence to ART is vital to maintain low viral load and to prevent the development of drug resistant virus. Poor adherence is one of the key obstacles to successful ART for HIV positive patients. Literature has shown that there are various factors that hinder adherence to ART such as patient, service, community, family, socio-economic and work-related factors. Aim: This study aimed to describe the experiences of patients in the ART programme at Katutura State Hospital, Communicable Disease Clinic (CDC), in the Khomas region of Namibia and to explore factors that contribute to poor adherence.</p>

The study was designed to generate data and information necessary for designing an appropriate sustainable solid waste management system, and examining the socio-economic benefits of urban municipal so lid waste management through job creation opportunities (albeit mainly informal) in Lesotho. The review of literature on the integrated solid waste management systems at international, regional and local levels in relation to job creation was carried out with a view to establish the necessity of carrying out this research. In addition, specific solid waste management experiences and practices in other countries have been cited. In Lesotho, investors and donors have, for long expressed the need for formulation of solid waste management policy and guidelines formulated in the country in order to create an enabling environment for investment. However, the process of preparing policy and guidelines requires substantial data and information. This study supplemented this effort by gathering data and information. The data and information gathered were on the existing policies and regulatory framework concerning waste management; waste generation rates, types and quantity from domestic, industrial and commercial establishments; recycling activities; and the waste harvesting (scavenging) activities. The study was undertaken in Maseru and Maputsoe, being the hub of commercial and industrial activities in the country. The data and information may also be useful to other SADC countries From the results of the study, it has been concluded that in Lesotho, paper was the most commonly generated waste in all the categories: domestic, industrial and commercial establishments. Plastic was the second category of the most commonly generated waste, which was followed by organic waste, and then, beverage cans. The study established that the weighted average household generation rate for the surveyed areas was: 0.13 Kg per capita day-I. In the same findings, it occurred that overall, households contribution to waste generation in the surveyed areas ranked second to commercial establishments despite their low per capita, in comparison with industrial establishments. The study has further concluded that out of an estimated total quantity of 157552 tonnes per annum of waste generated in Maseru, commercial establishments contributed 82%, while households contribute 15% and industrial establishments 3%. Households generated more waste than industries because they were in large numbers and hence contributed more than fewer industries. It has also been established that the household waste generation is dependent on incomes ofthese households, but had poor relationship with regard to the number of persons per household. To this effect, it was seen that high-income households generated more waste than low-income. The study further showed that where the municipal council offered waste collection service, not all recipients paid for this service. However, there was a general willingness- to- pay for the waste collection service by all sectors, on condition that there was an improvement in the offering of this service; and if made available where currently not offered. Furthermore, there was a general indication of affordability for these services up to a certain amount (albeit minimal) per different sectors. On the other hand, the information collected strongly indicated the need to invest more in solid waste management if this would be a means of employment creation and improvement of the environment. On the overall, the study revealed that there was a low level of awareness on waste related policy and regulatory instruments, and fragmented legal framework on waste management in Lesotho. The study also established that currently, solid waste as an informal sector generated an estimated profit of MO.7rnillion per annum from waste recycling related activities and that this informal sector generated about 282 jobs. In addition to these benefits, the question of solid waste as a source of biomass energy was another beneficial route in Lesotho. It has been established that the combustible organic waste was highly sought after as a source of energy for cooking and heating. However, besides the benefits, these activities also gave rise to some adverse impacts. The waste harvesters expressed that their health had been negatively impacted upon by the waste scavenging activities. Needless to suggest that there would be a need by the government to intervene in this problem by formalising these waste harvesting activities. It is hoped that this study would serve as a reservoiur for the source of data and information and for Lesotho and that other countries in the SADC Region shall fmd this document a useful tool. / Theses (Ph.D.)-University of Westville, 2002.

Unemployment is a massive and rapidly growing problem in the world as a whole and in South Africa in particular. Its consequences have assumed proportions comparable to those of disasters caused by tornados and hurricanes. Social commentators believe it should be treated the same way as HIV/AIDS in the South African context. Yet policy makers and decision makers have not given enough attention to the problem of unemployment in relation to its devastation effects. Economics and its theories seem unable to provide coherent understanding as to the mechanism leading to unemployment on such a massive scale. The response of the Church to this problem have been indifference; either due to ignorance or to a spiritualised faith and emphasis has been on personal virtues and vices such as industriousness and initiative over and against laziness and lethargy. This thesis aims to give an indication of the extent and urgency of the problem of unemployment, investigate the impact of the phenomenon on the youth in Pietermaritzburg, and the role befitting the Church in helping people deal with the problem. This study attempts to present to the public the contribution of theology, especially Industrial Mission, to the understanding of unemployment. Most research in the field of unemployment has been done by economists and the availability to an audience outside the community of economists is extremely limited. Economists generate their ideas and research results in technical journals where emphasis is on the methodology used and established scientific terminology. This vast technical literature fails to reach the wider public debate about work. This study tries to avoid both jargon and oversimplification in the belief that the research effort must become widely known amongst the employed and unemployed alike. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

The research investigates whether it is appropriate, practically and theologically, to think of the United Church of Christ in Chipinge, Zimbabwe as a community as set in the struggle against poverty. A number of key questions were asked and explored concerning the context of poverty in Chipinge, the theological grounds for understanding itself as a community asset in the struggle against poverty in Chipinge, and whether the 'asset portfolio' can actually contribute to the eradication of poverty. The thesis is rooted in a contemporary development approach known as Asset Based Community Development which argues that sustainable community life is built on what exists in a community rather than what is lacking. The theory and its relevance are explored in the thesis. Further, drawing on contemporary thinking about missiology and ecclesiology, the thesis argues whether the Church should understand itself as a 'community asset'. This leads to the use of the metaphor taken from Matthew 5: 13, where the people of God are called to be ' the salt of the earth' who would draw others together into a living relationship with God. It is argued that being the salt of the earth requires the Church to take faith into action through utilizing the God given gifts which are available in the Church and Chipinge community. Through a key informant survey of the pastors from seventeen UCC Churches in Chipinge. the thesis demonstrates that the United Church of Christ (UCC) in Chipinge, Zimbabwe, has a range of assets, or what we could call an "asset portfolio" which can and should contribute to the struggle against poverty in the region. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

This paper argues that an adequate definition of poverty is necessary for the church if it is to make a positive contribution to poverty alleviation. The definitions of Amartya Sen, Klaus Nurnberger and Bryant Myers are examined in the light of the Biblical witness of the Old and New Testaments. Building on the definition of Myers, the essay then explores some possible strategies for the church in poverty alleviation such as building healthy relationships, using the pulpit, and affirming the poor as agents of their own transformation. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2002.

This study investigated teachers’ management of learner problems in the context of an impoverished school community. The rationale for the study took into consideration the constant demands placed on learners and teachers by poverty-related issues. By illuminating the factors that affect teachers’ work performance in the context of an impoverished school community, it is hoped that all education stakeholders would be motivated to support, assist and guide teachers to overcome the current challenges with regard to poverty in schools, thus enhancing their work performance as well as that of their impoverished learners. The study employed a qualitative research design. Through a process of purposive sampling, five teachers from a primary school from the Phoenix Ward of the Pinetown District in KwaZulu-Natal were selected. The data were generated by means of semistructured interviews. The data gathered were coded and organized into themes, categories and sub-categories. Content analysis was used to analyze the data. The findings suggest that the consequences of poverty at school level are numerous and become even more complex when there is a lack of parental support at community level. Furthermore, they reveal that poverty impacts negatively on learners’ academic performance. Factors associated with poor work performance by learners included abuse, parental apathy, the environment, and a lack of resources, to name but a few. Praise and recognition, as well as democratic leadership styles on the part of teachers have a positive influence on learners’ work performance. Flexibility, care and visible intervention by teachers and the school have been found to have a positive impact on learners’ attitude towards school. The study concludes with a number of recommendations to address and manage the problems experienced by learners in impoverished contexts. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

As enshrined in the post-apartheid South African constitution, access to basic services like potable water, sanitation and formal housing has become a basic right for all South Africans. The delivery of low-cost housing through the national and provincial Departments of Human Settlement is one of the major focuses of the post-apartheid South African Government. South Africa today (2010) still has massive shortages of low-cost housing for the poor, despite funding being made available to address this need. Millions of poor families live in shacks in informal settlements and in overcrowded townships where small (250 to 300 square metre) erven with one bedroom dwellings and rudimentary extensions and backyard shacks erected on them often house more than one family while they await access to housing subsidies. The Eastern Cape Province is one of the poorest provinces in South Africa, with a significantly poor rural community and dense urban settlements which have sprouted all over as a result of urban migration and population growth. According to the Provincial Human Settlement Department, the Eastern Cape has a backlog of approximately 370,000 low-cost houses. Several low cost housing projects have been initiated in the province. The projects are implemented using different partnership strategies and they produce different outcomes, which are in no way near the desired outcomes of meeting the demand of supplying quality houses in the shortest possible time (E Cape Government Department of Human Settlement). In terms of the project management norms, standards and processes of the building industry, it takes two builders, one plumber and five labourers five days to build a fifty square metre low-cost housing unit. Yet some projects, as small as 200 housing units, have taken more than 10 years to complete for one reason or the other. Often when the houses are perceived to be complete it becomes evident that their quality is of an unacceptable standard, and some unmet desired objectives. Some project sites in rural towns of the former Transkei have been abandoned due to failures in implementation. Furthermore, some project sites which start off as green fields have been invaded by poor communities who build rudimentary shack dwellings on the sites in a sign of desperation, impatience and frustration at the pace of delivery (among other reasons) with a huge unfavourable financial impact on the implementation of the planned projects. The problems impacting on low-cost housing delivery are a combination of hard systems (processes, procedures, costing, programming and so on) and soft systems (the human element). The problems and risks described as being associated with housing projects are many and varied, depending who is talking, and in some instances it is difficult to describe the problems in words (unstructured and complex problems). This study concentrates on the human element associated with the implementation processes by critically examining the roles of the multitude of stakeholders who are identified as partners in the projects. Such partnerships are a huge contributing factor to the success or failure of a programme. This study looks at minimising project implementation risks through the establishment of effective cross-sector partnership frameworks. The positive and negative impacts of partners in low-cost housing project management and implementation are critically examined using Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) with a view to improving service delivery. Keywords Systems Thinking, Complexity, Soft Systems, Cross-sector Partnerships, Project Management, Low-cost Housing Projects / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2010.

The number of South Africans that fall beneath “a commonly accepted poverty line” has risen from 17 million in 1996 to 23.5 million in 2008 (CDE, 2008: 6). The escalating poverty levels and the critical shortage of state-driven poverty alleviation programmes have led to the expansion of a space in which civil society organisations are attempting to address South Africa's development deficit. Given the potential and actual influence of such organisations, specifically faith-based organisations (FBOs), in poverty alleviation programmes, coupled with recent debates on the dark side of associational life, this research examines FBOs in terms of Putnam's conception of bonding and bridging social capital. Examining one particular FBO, in which no evidence of bonding social capital or exclusion is found, the research questions Putnam's rather narrow perception. However, strict gate keeping exercises on the part of the FBO, a lack of empirical data and the presence of complex social realities prevent a comprehensive evaluation of the FBO. Unable to prove whether this FBO provides a suitable model for the government to implement or whether the FBO is an appropriate candidate for government to partner with in the fight against poverty, it is proposed that a more wide-scale investigation of the programme and its participants, be conducted. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

The urban poor of the third world cities living in slums and squatter settlements often have to support themselves or augment their meagre and uncertain incomes with small-scale business enterprises. This deceptively marginal sector of the urban economy in reality plays a vital role as a major percentage of the urban population are poor. These enterprises are, more often than not, home-based due to their lack of resources. The squalid and congested living conditions in these settlements are thus further compromised by setting up these commercial endeavour, but it is essential for their livelihood as employment opportunities occupy a primary position in their list of priorities. / This thesis studies the phenomenon of people in low-income housing settlements using their own homes for income generating activities and the compromise between the various uses of the same space. A field study was undertaken in a typical bustee in Calcutta, India to help illustrate this phenomenon. Sample surveys of a number of households where small-scale economic activity takes place were taken and studied in detail. How the integration of such activities in their daily living environment shapes, changes and influences their living patterns forms the main focus of the study.

Most developing countries have based their housing strategies on ownership. Approaches they have adopted, such as sites and services or upgrading schemes, rely basically on ownership through self-help. Yet, most of these efforts have proved inadequate to cope with the increasing demand for urban housing. In this context, informal settlements seem to provide the cheapest and more 'affordable' ownership options for the poor. Nevertheless, home ownership, even in its squatter form, demands time, investment, and long term commitment; a luxury that some households simply cannot afford. / Based on qualitative research conducted in three low income barrios of informal origin, this study looks at the kind of non-ownership-oriented solutions available for the poor in Resistencia a provincial capital in Northeast Argentina. On the demand side, findings suggest that for some households rental or shared housing is the only choice. For others, on the contrary, it seems to be a matter of preference, a way to avoid the chores of ownership. On the supply side, the study unveils a fairly wide spectrum of choices, with options ranging from a bed in a house to rooming houses of up to 15 rooms. While some of the landlords are relatively wealthy, others are just as poor, or poorer than their tenants. / Rental and shared alternatives are far from being 'ideal' housing solutions. Under certain conditions, however, they result in reasonable short-term options that, apart from generating extra income for small landlords, contribute to diversify the supply of cheap accommodation for poor households.