HIV/AIDS and home-based health care

This paper highlights the socio-economic impacts of HIV/AIDS on women. It argues that the socio-cultural beliefs that value the male and female lives differently lead to differential access to health care services. The position of women is exacerbated by their low financial base especially in the rural community where their main source of livelihood, agricultural production does not pay much. But even their active involvement in agricultural production or any other income ventures is hindered when they have to give care to the sick and bedridden friends and relatives. This in itself is a threat to household food security. The paper proposes that gender sensitive policies and programming of intervention at community level would lessen the burden on women who bear the brunt of AIDS as caregivers and livelihood generators at household level. Improvement of medical facilities and quality of services at local dispensaries is seen as feasible since they are in the rural areas. Other interventions should target freeing women's and girls' time for education and involvement in income generating ventures. Two separate data sets from Western Kenya, one being quantitative and another qualitative data have been used

Widowhood in the era of HIV/AIDS: A case study of Slaya District, Kenyanew!

Luo women are believed to acquire contagious cultural impurity after the death of their husbands that is perceived as dangerous to other people. To neutralise this impure state, a sexual cleansing rite is observed. In the indigenous setting, the ritual was observed by a brother-in-law or cousin of the deceased husband through a guardianship institution. However, with the emergence of HIV/AIDS, many educated brothers-in-law refrain from the practice and instead hire professional cleansers as substitutes. If the deceased spouses were HIV positive, the ritual places professional cleansers at risk of infection. Thereafter, they could act as a bridge for HIV/AIDS transmission to other widows and to the general population. This paper provides insights into reasons for continuity of widowhood rites in Siaya District. Twelve focus group discussions and 20 in-depth interviews were conducted.The cultural violence against Luo widows could spread HIV/AIDS, but Christianity and condoms act as coping mechanisms. SAHARA J Vol. 4 (2) 2007: pp. 606-61