Hiv

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE? : Donor-civil society partnerships and the case of hiv/aids work

Upphovspersoner:	Follér, Maj-Lis | Haug, Christoph | Knutsson, Beniamin | Thörn, Håkan
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation |
År:	2013
Ämnesord:	Mozambique, Rwand, a South Africa, Hiv, aids, aids prevention, International cooperation, Foreign aid, Civil Society, Partnership

Civil society organisations are today considered crucial indevelopment partnerships. This Policy Dialogue argues that current aid programs tend to turn such CSOs into businesses that are required to meet donor demands for reportable results, rather than to serve the needs of intended beneficiaries. Based on case studies drawn from HIV and AIDS work in Mozambique, Rwanda and South Africa, the report explores the methods donors use to govern development partnerships and their effect on the distribution of responsibility among partners. It further examines the responses by recipient organisations to these requirements, ranging from acquiescence to resistance. These case studies, drawn from the field of HIV/AIDS, are also invaluable in shedding light on wider issue of the governance of international development cooperation with civil society.

Gender Violence and HIV/AIDS in Post-Conflict West Africa : Issues and responses

Upphovsperson:	Ahonsi, Babatunde A.
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2010
Ämnesord:	Post-conflict reconstruction, Violence against women, sexual abuse, Sexually transmitted diseases, Hiv, aids, Women’s health, Gender analysis, Liberia, Sierra Leone, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP

This discussion paper examines the linkages between gender and gender inequality in the context of conflict, sexual violence and HIV transmission, and their impact on postconflict reconstruction in Sierra Leone and Liberia. It makes two critical contributions to a gendered perspective on post-conflict transitions in West Africa. First, it notes that contrary to conventional wisdom, post-war transitions to relative peace have made little difference to women’s exposure to chronic sexual violence, with potential implications for increased HIV transmission. Second, the study interrogates those assumptions linking war-related sexual violence to high HIV prevalence in post-conflict contexts, by showing that despite over a decade of armed conflict, Liberia and Sierra Leone had adult HIV prevalence rates that were among the lowest in West Africa. This paper goes beyond generally held notions of the sexual and gender dimensions of civil wars in Africa and points to a gap in, and key challenge for studies and policies on post-conflict reconstruction in Africa.

Towards More Informed Responses to Gender Violence and HIV/AIDS in Post-Conflict West African Settings

Upphovsperson:	Ahonsi, Babatunde A.
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2010
Ämnesord:	Violence against women, sexual abuse, Sexually transmitted diseases, Hiv, aids prevention, Women’s health, gender relations, Post-conflict reconstruction, West Africa, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Peace and conflict research, Freds- och konfliktforskning

The evidence is incontrovertible that Liberia (with its two civil wars, 1989-97 and 2000-03) and Sierra Leone (with its 1991-2001 war) have emerged from two of the most inhuman, ferocious and cruel conflicts in the post-Cold war era. The scale of destruction, rape, mayhem, arson and torture perpetrated during these wars was among the greatest in Africa’s postcolonial history. Women, especially adolescents and young adults, were exposed to extreme sexual brutality at a time when a growing heterosexually-driven HIV pandemic was occurring in the West African sub-region. Both countries also experienced an economic and social collapse that resulted in human development indicators on employment, income, health, education, women’s status and child well-being that are among the lowest in the world. Protracted armed conflicts, as witnessed in Liberia and Sierra Leone and beyond, expose women and girls to unprecedented levels and forms of sexual violence. Moreover, the expectation that the transition from war to peace will lead to significantly reduced sexual violence against women (SVAW) is often disappointed. Instead, post-conflict transitions tend to produce a change in the predominant forms of sexual violence and the profile of its perpetrators. The extended and interlinked conflicts in these neighbouring countries relate at a fundamental level to the persistent denial of citizenship rights to particular population sub-groups over several decades. Within such landscapes of severe social, economic and political marginalization and deprivation, women and girls were bound to suffer more than men and boys during and after the wars as a result of long-established and deeply entrenched patriarchal structures and ideologies in both countries. The persistence of SVAW during post-conflict transitions tends to increase the risk of HIV infection among younger women relative to the phase of armed conflict. A key causal factor is men’s highly exploitative, transactional and cross-generational multiple sexual activities. Thus far, the dominant responses to this complex of issues in post-conflict West Africa have lacked a nuanced understanding of the underlying drivers of sexual violence and its intersections with women’s higher risk of HIV infection.The policy responses to the challenges of post-conflict reconstruction and peace-building in West Africa have generally focused more on traditional security, physical infrastructurere building and economic revitalization issues than on such highly gendered human security concerns as sexual violence and violations of reproductive rights. Left unaddressed, these persisting or worsening human security challenges, affecting at least half their populations, make sustainable peace and development in post-conflict Liberia and Sierra Leone nearly impossible.

Sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeeping operations in contemporary Africa

Upphovspersoner:	Rudén, Fanny | Utas, Mats
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Urban Dynamics | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2009
Ämnesord:	Africa, United Nations, Peacekeeping, Peace corps, minitary personnel, Hiv, Social implications, sexual abuse, Human rights violations, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP

In international peacekeeping operations (PKOs) some individuals are involved in sexual exploitation and abuse of the host country’s population, buying of sexual services and trafficking of prostitutes. Far from being a new phenomenon it goes back a long time, and reports on the issue have increased over the years. All too frequently we read about peacekeepers visiting prostitutes, committing rape, or in other ways sexually exploiting host populations. Some peacekeepers are taking advantage of the power their work gives them, and becoming abusers rather than protectors in situations where the host population is powerless and in dire need of protection. Peacekeepers’ abuse of their mandate is inflicting severe damage on host societies and often results in a number of unintended consequences such as human rights violations, rapid spread of HIV, decreased trust in the UN as well as other international aid agencies, and harmful changes to gender patterns. Women and children, both girls and boys, are especially exposed. Having already suffered from war and instability they risk becoming even more physically and mentally wounded. Peacekeeping operations risk doing more harm than good in African war zones, and if they cannot learn from previous mistakes maybe they ought to stay at home. We do not argue for the latter; rather, we point towards the urgent need to change explicit and implicit patterns and habits in international peacekeeping operations in relation to sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) in Africa. In this Policy Note we focus predominantly on military staff, but acknowledge that the civilian staff of PKOs, and international aid workers, are also implicated. On the other hand it should initially be pointed out that most PKO staff are not sexual exploiters and abusers.

HIV and Income Inequality: If there is a link, what does it tell us?

Upphovsperson:	Holmqvist, Göran
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Globalization, Trade and Regional Integration | Brasilia : IPC
År:	2009
Ämnesord:	Income inequality, Hiv, economics, Nationalekonomi, Infectious diseases, Infektionssjukdomar

There is a striking variation in the prevalence of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among countries and regions of the world, with a distinct geographical pattern. This paper explores the link between income inequality and HIV. It presents empirical evidence—a meta-study and additional cross-country regression results—that clearly support the argument that such a link exists. The interpretation of this link is an open issue. Four different hypotheses are discussed, each one pointing out a transit route from income inequality to HIV. The paper presents preliminary evidence on these routes and identifies potential areas for future research.

How to be a 'proper' woman in the time of AIDS

Upphovspersoner:	Jassey, Katja | Nyanzi, Stella
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2007
Ämnesord:	womens role, gender relations, feminism, sexuality, Hiv, aids, Social change, attitudes, information campaigns, behavioural sciences, South Africa, Uganda, Gambia, Sociology, Sociologi

How to Be a ‘Proper’ Women in the Time of AIDS is written as a piece of music for multiple voices. The voices of Katja Jassey and Stella Nyanzi – both professional women, both mothers, both anthropologists, one European, one African – are intertwined with the voices of other women (and men) telling about their lives coping with AIDS and/or struggling against the epidemic.  Personal storylines and interviews are interspersed with analytical reflections and a string of amazing photographs of African HIV/AIDS billboard posters, captured by Suzy Bernstein. Unconventional questions are posed: What kind of sexuality is portrayed in the anti-HIV/AIDS campaigns? Why is there such an absence of messages that would include or make sense to those living with HIV? What does it mean to be a ‘proper’ woman in the time of AIDS? The authors decided that instead of producing yet another publication citing the number of people infected, they would reflect on their own stories and professional experience, how they had come to think and react to HIV, and how their different positions influenced their understandings. By doing so they manage to create new insights and open new perspectives. They don’t say what is right and wrong. They say stop! Stop awhile and think about yourselves. Stop and think for yourselves.

Models for life : advancing antiretroviral therapy in sub-Saharan Africa

Upphovsperson:	Lazarus, Jeffrey V.
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2005
Ämnesord:	Hiv, aids, medical care, access to health care, medicinal drugs, public health, aids prevention, nongovernmental organizations, Africa South of Sahara, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP

Models for Life: Advancing antiretroviral therapy in sub-Saharan Africa is based on two conferences that were held in Copenhagen and Uppsala, in September 2004. The events brought together more than 70 key actors from Denmark, Sweden and Uganda in the field of HIV/AIDS and its treatment: antiretroviral therapy. The conferences were unique in that each panel and the subsequent discussion brought together researchers, donors and representatives from non-governmental organisations, in order to link theory, operations research and practice. The working paper covers a wide range of the issues that were brought up at the conferences, but focuses on the following three main topics: - Access to antiretroviral therapy - Holistic approaches to providing antiretroviral therapy, prevention and support - Antiretroviral therapy and public health services. Each section begins by introducing the core issues to be addressed. The different presentations are then put into perspective by summarising the main questions from the participants and the other panellists. In addition, the editors have further developed some of the key points made by drawing on current literature in the field. The final section concludes with a list of take-home messages for non-governmental organisations.