Download or read book AIDS in the Shadow of Biomedicine written by Isak Niehaus and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-12-15 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Bushbuckridge region of South Africa has one of the highest rates of HIV infection in the world. Having first arrived in the area in the early 1990s, the disease spread rapidly, and by 2008 life expectancies had fallen by 12 years for men and 14 years for women. Since 2005, public health facilities have increasingly offered free HAART (highly active antiretroviral therapy) treatment, offering a degree of hope, but uptake and adherence to the therapy has been sporadic and uneven. Drawing on his extensive ethnographic research, carried out in Bushbuckridge over the course of 25 years, Isak Niehaus reveals how the AIDS pandemic has been experienced at the village-level. Most significantly, he shows how local cultural practices and values have shaped responses to the epidemic. For example, while local attitudes towards death and misfortune have contributed to the stigma around AIDS, kinship structures have also facilitated the adoption and care of AIDS orphans. Such practices challenge us to rethink the role played by culture in understanding and treating sickness, with Niehaus showing how an appreciation of local beliefs and customs is essential to any effective strategy of AIDS treatment. Overturning many of our assumptions on disease prevention, the book is essential reading for practitioners as well as researchers in global health, anthropology, sociology, epidemiology and scholars interested in public health and administration in sub-Saharan Africa.
Download or read book AIDS in the Shadow of Biomedicine written by Isak Niehaus and published by Zed Books Ltd.. This book was released on 2018-12-15 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Bushbuckridge region of South Africa has one of the highest rates of HIV infection in the world. Having first arrived in the area in the early 1990s, the disease spread rapidly, and by 2008 life expectancies had fallen by 12 years for men and 14 years for women. Since 2005, public health facilities have increasingly offered free HAART (highly active antiretroviral therapy) treatment, offering a degree of hope, but uptake and adherence to the therapy has been sporadic and uneven. Drawing on his extensive ethnographic research, carried out in Bushbuckridge over the course of 25 years, Isak Niehaus reveals how the AIDS pandemic has been experienced at the village-level. Most significantly, he shows how local cultural practices and values have shaped responses to the epidemic. For example, while local attitudes towards death and misfortune have contributed to the stigma around AIDS, kinship structures have also facilitated the adoption and care of AIDS orphans. Such practices challenge us to rethink the role played by culture in understanding and treating sickness, with Niehaus showing how an appreciation of local beliefs and customs is essential to any effective strategy of AIDS treatment. Overturning many of our assumptions on disease prevention, the book is essential reading for practitioners as well as researchers in global health, anthropology, sociology, epidemiology and scholars interested in public health and administration in sub-Saharan Africa.
Download or read book Health Healing and Illness in African History written by Rebekah Lee and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2021-02-11 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, Rebekah Lee offers a critical introduction to the diverse history of health, healing and illness in sub-Saharan Africa from the 1800s to the present day. Its focus is not simply on disease but rather on how illness and health were understood and managed: by healthcare providers, African patients, their families and communities. Through a sustained interdisciplinary approach, Lee brings to the foreground a cast of actors, institutions and ideas that both profoundly and intimately shaped African health experiences and outcomes. This book guides the reader through a wide range of historical source material, and highlights the theoretical and methodological innovations which have enriched this scholarship. Part One delivers a concise historical overview of African health and illness from the long 'pre-colonial' past through the colonial period and into the present day, providing an understanding of broad patterns – of major disease challenges, experiences of illness, and local and global health interventions – and their persistence or transformation across time. Part Two adopts a 'case study' approach, focusing on specific health challenges in Africa – HIV/AIDS, mental illness, tropical disease and occupational disease – and their unfolding across time and space. Health, Healing and Illness in African History is the first wide-ranging survey of this key topic in African history and the history of health and medicine, and the ideal introduction for students.
Download or read book Living with HIV in Post Crisis Times written by David A.B. Murray and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2021-08-18 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the past decade, effective prevention and treatment policies have resulted in global health organizations claiming that the end of the HIV/AIDS crisis is near and that HIV/AIDS is now a chronic but manageable disease. These proclamations have been accompanied by stagnant or decreasing public interest in and financial support for people living with HIV and the organizations that support them, minimizing significant global disparities in the management and control of the HIV pandemic. The contributors to this edited collection explore how diverse communities of people living with HIV (PLHIV) and organizations that support them are navigating physical, social, political, and economic challenges during these so-called “post-crisis” times.
Download or read book Food Aid in Sudan written by Susanne Jaspars and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-05-15 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2004, the UN's Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan called Darfur the world's worst humanitarian crisis. A comprehensive food aid programme soon followed, at the time the largest in the world. Yet by 2014, while the crisis continued, international agencies found they had limited access to much of the population, with the Sudanese regime effectively controlling who received aid. As a result, acute malnutrition remains persistently high. Food Aid in Sudan argues that the situation in Sudan is emblematic of a far wider problem. Analysing the history of food aid in the country over fifty years, Jaspars shows that such aid often serves to enrich local regimes and the private sector while leaving war-torn populations in a state of permanent emergency. Drawing on her decades of experience as an aid worker and researcher in the region, and extensive interviews with workers in the food aid process, Jaspars brings together two key topics of our time: the failure of the humanitarian system to respond to today's crises, and the crisis in the global food system. Essential reading for students and researchers across the social sciences studying the nature and effectiveness of contemporary humanitarianism, development and international aid.
Download or read book Politics and Government in South Africa written by Mueni Wa Muiu and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-06-20 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Politics and Government in South Africa introduces readers to all aspects of government and politics in South Africa, from local, to provincial, national, and on to international considerations. The perfect guide for students and general readers, this textbook explains how South Africa’s key institutions are governed and interact with each other, and how important issues such as economics, gender, race, and class shape relations between citizens and government. Grounded in history and leading theories and debates, the book also brings in alternative perspectives from artists, writers, and popular culture, to demonstrate the diverse ways in which issues of politics and social justice are engaged with within South Africa. Written with the needs of students at the forefront, each chapter includes: Review and discussion questions Key terms and further resources Fun facts in a Did you know? section Supplementary sources and quotations in a The Past as Present section Interactive and engaging, Politics and Government in South Africa invites readers to consider what they would do in tackling issues such as land distribution, peacekeeping, South Africa’s role in the African Union, and military engagement abroad. It is an essential read for undergraduate students studying Political Science, International Relations, and African Studies, and for anyone looking to develop a deeper understanding of South Africa.
Download or read book Contesting Africas New Green Revolution written by Jacqueline Ignatova and published by Zed Books Ltd.. This book was released on 2021-05-20 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ‘In this insightful critique of arguments for and against GMOs as a remedy for poverty, inequality and hunger in Africa, Ignatova illuminates the way the “new Green Revolution” serves as a vehicle for philanthrocapital – generating markets and wealth for global agribusiness in the name of “pro-poor” development.’ Sara Berry, Professor Emeritus, John Hopkins University, USA ‘Ignatova’s important book illuminates profound problems with public-private partnerships that skirt democratic accountability and empower wealthy interests at the expense of local communities. But it’s not a despairing account: she centres Ghanaian activists and policy-makers who are pioneering a new type of philanthropy, one emphasizing interdependency and social justice over anti-democratic efforts to privatize seed commons. A revelatory and insightful study.’ Linsey McGoey, Professor of Sociology, University of Essex, UK ‘Like a combine through a field of genetically modified maize, Jacqueline Ignatova cuts through the rhetoric surrounding the ‘Green Revolution for Africa’ to reveal the underlying power, politics and inequities that shape agricultural development in contemporary Ghana. Full of rich empirics and analytical insights, this book is essential reading for those seeking a comprehensive understanding of how public-private partnerships and philanthropy-driven initiatives are reshaping smallholder agriculture across the African continent.’ Marcus Taylor, Associate Professor and Head of Department, Global Development Studies, Queen’s University, Canada
Download or read book Decolonizing Civil Society in Mozambique written by Tanja Kleibl and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2021-08-26 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By demonstrating that Western conceptions of 'civil society' have provided the framework for interpreting societies in the Global South, Decolonizing Civil Society in Mozambique argues that it is only through a critical deconstruction of these concepts that we can start to re-balance global power relationships, both in academic discourse and in development practices. Examining the exclusionary discourses framing the support for Western-type NGOs in the development discourse - often to the exclusion of local social actors - this book dissects mainstream contemporary ideas about 'civil society', and finds a new means by which to identify local forms of social action, often based in traditional structures and spiritual discourses. Outlining new conceptual ideas for an alternative framing of Mozambique's 'civil society', Kleibl proposes a series of fresh theoretical issues and questions alongside empirical research, moving towards a series of new policy and practice arguments for rethinking and decolonizing civil society in the Global South.
Download or read book Malawi written by Matthias Rompel and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2020-10-29 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Malawi is one of the poorest countries on the globe. Subsistence agriculture remains at the very heart of its social fabric, and also lies at the root of its tremendous poverty. Yet while Malawi is among the worst performers in terms of per capita income and infant mortality, it is also a surprising leader in other areas (such as freedom of the press), has enjoyed over fifty years of relative stability since independence, and still holds great potential for economic development. Bringing together some of the leading experts on the country, this collection offers a comprehensive introduction to contemporary Malawi, encompassing its economy, culture, and politics. An invaluable resource for scholars and development professionals alike, the book assesses the root causes of Malawi's impoverishment, and also offers insight into how the country might break out of its development impasse.
Download or read book Undoing Coups written by Antonia Witt and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2020-09-17 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the beginnings of independence, a number of African nations have been plagued by repeated coup d'états. Within the African Union (AU), there has been a concerted effort to break this cycle through the official adoption of an 'anti-coup norm', by which the AU is mandated to suspend a member state and restore constitutional order following a coup. Supporters of this stance see it as strengthening democracy in Africa, while critics argue that it has served to prop up existing regimes. But there has been little analysis of what the AU's attempts to 'restore constitutional order' have meant for individual African states. In this book, Antonia Witt looks at the legacy of the AU's intervention in Madagascar following the 2009 'Malagasy crisis', one of the increasingly relevant yet under-researched cases of non-Western intervention in Africa. The book looks at the ways in which international intervention reconfigured the political order in Madagascar, how it facilitated the power struggle within the Madagascan elite and prevented more profound political change. It also considers what the example set by the Madagascan intervention means for the wider international order in Africa and the powers attributed to African international actors such as the AU.
Download or read book Entrepreneurs and SMEs in Rwanda written by David L. Poole and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2021-01-28 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Entrepreneurs and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) have become the darlings of neoliberal development thinking, with the received wisdom being that such enterprises hold the key to the economic transformation of low-income countries. This thinking has profoundly influenced development policy in Rwanda, but has singularly failed to deliver the much anticipated emergence of a new class of entrepreneurs and a vibrant SME sector. This book deconstructs the myths around entrepreneurship and SMEs, and reveals how neoliberal approaches towards microcredit and related programmes have failed to address the economic challenges facing countries like Rwanda. Drawing on his study of successful and aspiring entrepreneurs, Poole identifies the factors associated with successful entrepreneurship. He uncovers the unintended consequences of the entrepreneurship and SME development prescription, and offers key policy insights which have implications for Rwanda and beyond.
Download or read book War Women and Post conflict Empowerment written by Josephine Beoku-Betts and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2022-01-13 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the 1991-2002 civil conflict ended in Sierra Leone, the country has failed to translate the accomplishments of women's involvement in bringing the war to an end into meaningful political empowerment. This is in marked contrast to other post-conflict countries, which have increased the political participation of women in elected and appointed office, increased the representation of women in leadership positions, and enacted constitutional reforms promoting women's rights. Written by Sierra Leonean and Africanist scholars and experts from a broad range of disciplines, this unique volume analyses the historical and contextual factors influencing women's political, economic and social development in the country. In drawing on a diverse array of case studies – from health to education, refugees to international donors – the contradictions, successes and challenges of women's lives in a post-conflict environment are revealed, making this an essential book for anyone involved in women and development.
Download or read book Kakuma Refugee Camp written by Bram J. Jansen and published by Zed Books Ltd.. This book was released on 2018-06-15 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kenya’s Kakuma refugee camp is one of the world’s largest, home to over 100,000 people drawn from across east and central Africa. Though notionally still a ‘temporary’ camp, it has become a permanent urban space in all but name with businesses, schools, a hospital and its own court system. Such places, Bram J. Jansen argues, should be recognised as ‘accidental cities’, a unique form of urbanization that has so far been overlooked by scholars. Based on extensive ethnographic fieldwork, Jansen’s book explores the dynamics of everyday life in such accidental cities. The result is a holistic socio-economic picture, moving beyond the conventional view of such spaces as transitory and desolate to demonstrate how their inhabitants can develop a permanent society and a distinctive identity. Crucially, the book offers important insights into one of the greatest challenges facing humanitarian and international development workers: how we might develop more effective strategies for managing refugee camps in the global South and beyond. An original take on African urbanism, Kakuma Refugee Camp will appeal to practitioners and academics across the social sciences interested in social and economic issues increasingly at the heart of contemporary development.
Download or read book The Politics of Fear in South Sudan written by Daniel Akech Thiong and published by Zed Books Ltd.. This book was released on 2021-04-22 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When asked in 2016 if he would step down as President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir replied ‘my exit could spark genocide.’ Kiir’s words exemplify how fear and the threat of mass violence have become central to the politics of South Sudan. As South Sudanese analyst Daniel Akech Thiong shows, it is this politics that lies at the heart of the country’s seemingly intractable civil war. In this book, Akech Thiong explores the origins of South Sudan’s politics of fear. Weaving together social, economic and cultural factors into a comprehensive framework, he reveal how the country’s elites have exploited ethnic divisions as a means of mobilising support and securing their grip on power, in the process triggering violent conflict. He also considers the ways in which this politics of fear takes root among the wider populace, exploring the role of corruption, social media, and state coercion in spreading hatred and fostering mass violence. As regimes across Africa and around the world become increasingly reliant on their own politics of fear, Akech Thiong’s book offers novel insight into a growing phenomenon with implications far beyond South Sudan.
Download or read book Contesting Africa s New Green Revolution written by Jacqueline A. Ignatova and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2021-05-20 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Genetically modified crops have become a key element of development strategies across the Global South, despite remaining deeply controversial. Proponents hail them as an example of 'pro-poor' innovation, while critics regard them as a threat to food sovereignty and the environment. The promotion of biotechnology is an integral part of 'new Green Revolution for Africa' interventions and is also intimately linked to the rise of 'philanthrocapitalism,' which advances business solutions to address the problem of poverty. Through interviews with farmers, policymakers and agricultural scientists, Jacqueline Ignatova shows how efforts to transform the seed sector in northern Ghana – one of the key laboratories of this 'new Green Revolution' – may serve to exacerbate the inequality it was notionally intended to address. But she also argues that its effects in Ghana have been far more complex than either side of the debate has acknowledged, with local farmers proving adept at blending traditional and modern agricultural methods that subvert the interests of global agribusiness.
Download or read book Ironies of Solidarity written by Erik Bähre and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2020-01-15 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Set in one of the world's most unequal and violent places, this ethnographic study reveals how insurance companies discovered a vast market of predominantly poor African clients. After apartheid ended in 1994, South Africa became a 'testing ground' for new insurance products, new marketing techniques and pioneering administrative models with a potentially global market. Drawing on Rorty's notion of irony for understanding how the contradictions inherent to solidarity affect inequality and conflict as well as drawing on a vast array of case studies, Ironies of Solidarity examines how both Africans enjoy the freedoms that they have gained in financial terms and how the onset of democracy effected the risks faced in everyday life. Bähre examines the ways in which policies are sold and claims are handled, offering a detailed analysis of South Africa's insurance sector.
Download or read book Covid and Custom in Rural South Africa written by Leslie Bank and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2022-07-15 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the impact of Covid-19, and the associated state lockdown, on rural lives in a former homeland in South Africa. The 2020 Disaster Management Act saw the state sweep through rural areas, targeting funerals and other customary practices as potential "super-spreader" events. This unprecedented clampdown produced widespread disruption, fear and anxiety. The authors build on path-breaking work concerning local responses to West Africa's Ebola epidemic, and examine the HIV/AIDS pandemic, to understand the impact of the Covid crisis on these communities, and on rural Africa more broadly. To shed light on the role of custom and ritual in rural social change during the pandemic, Covid and Custom in Rural South Africa applies long-term historical and ethnographic research; theories of people's science, local knowledge and the human economy; and fieldwork conducted in ten rural South African communities during lockdown. The volume highlights differences between developments in Southern Africa and elsewhere on the continent, while exploring how the former apartheid homelands-commonly, yet problematically, represented as former "labor reserves"-have since been reconstituted as new home-spaces. In short, it explains why rural people have been so angered by the state's assault on their cultural practices and institutions in the time of Covid.
