Title | Water and HIV/AIDS : some strategic considerations in Southern Africa |
Publication Type | Miscellaneous |
Year of Publication | 2001 |
Authors | Ashton, P, Ramasar, V |
Pagination | 21 p. : 5 tab. |
Date Published | 2001-06-01 |
Publisher | Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) |
Place Published | Pretoria, South Africa |
Keywords | ability to pay, groundwater pollution, health impact, hiv/aids, infectious diseases, manpower, mortality, population increase, productivity, sdiafr, sdihyg, socioeconomic impact, southern africa, water demand, water resources management, water supply, water use, water-related diseases |
Abstract | This paper examines the socioeconomic and health impacts of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in southern Africa. It first gives strategic overviews of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, water resources management, and water use in southern Africa. The paper then elaborates on six groups of problems where HIV/AIDS impinges on water resources management: (1) inaccurate estimates of population growth rates and mortality rates lead to incorrect estimates of water demand, hindering proper planning of water supply systems; (2) changes in the socio-economic profiles of communities leads to difficulties in paying for water and sanitation services; (3) loss of skilled staff leads to increased costs for recruitment and training, and possible production delays; (4) decline in productivity as more staff members and their family become infected; (5) decline in drinking water quality caused by inadequate water treatment and sanitation leads to increased public health risks, particularly for infected individuals; and (6) the (small) risk of groundwater pollution by informal/clandestine graveyards. |
Notes | 47 ref. |
Custom 1 | 203.1, 824 |