Water and HIV/AIDS - some strategic considerations

At first sight, the issues of HIV/AIDS and water would appear to bear very little relation to each other. HIV/AIDS is a global-scale pandemic that is transmitted between people primarily through sexual contact, while water is a renewable natural resource of which the availability depends on a variety of geographic and climatic factors.

However, a closer inspection of the features that characterise the spread of HIV/AIDS and its implications for individuals, communities and socities reveals several significant linkages with water, as well as important consequences for water resource management.

The links between HIV/AIDS and water reflect some of the often unanticipated effects of the pandemic on society, with long-term implications for effective water resource manaegment and the provision of wholesome water supplies to communities.

This chapter first provides a strategic overview of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in southern Africa and then examines the extent to whchi it influences and is influenced by water resource management on the sub-continent.

The foregoing is the Introduction extracted from a chapter authored by Peter Ashton and Vasna Ramasar in the book "Hydroponics in the Developing World: A Southern African Perspective". Edited by A R Turton and R Henwood, the book is published by the African Water Issues Research Unit (AWRU) in Pretoria, South Africa. To download the full chapter, click on the link in the righthand column.