Paul Germond and Sepetla Molapo have defined bophelo as a particular BaSotho
conception of health and religion. This scholarship defining bophelo derives several policy
principles for public health seeking to appreciate religious entities as assets: 1) should
actively engage religious entities and to treat them as potential assets in HIV prevention 2)
that the value of religion for health is typically not tangible to western scientific and technical
methodologies 3) health and religion are sought at a communal level, at which individuals are
united through bonds of trust and a common set of cultural practices, often expressed with
reference ancestor reverence. Germond and Molapo argue that conceptions of health and
religion in other southern African cultures and nations are closely analogous to bophelo, and
sketch the relevance of these conceptions for the effectiveness of the public health response
to the HIV epidemic in southern Africa.
The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is the United States
initiative to prevent HIV and treat AIDS across the globe. PEPFAR is notable for funding a
high proportion of faith-based organizations for HIV prevention relative to other major HIV
and AIDS initiatives.
This is study of two faith-based organizations, HOPE Worldwide and Youth for
Christ. Both received funding from PEPFAR to conduct HIV prevention programs in Durban
in 2007. The study assesses the conceptions of religion as an asset for their interventions with
specific reference to the principles of Germond and Molapo’s bophelo scholarship. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.
Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ukzn/oai:http://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za:10413/7977 |
Date | January 2011 |
Creators | Cannell, Thomas T. |
Contributors | Haddad, Beverley Gail., De Gruchy, Steve M. |
Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
Language | en_ZA |
Detected Language | English |
Type | Thesis |
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