Chapters authored
Taking it to the Pulpit: Repositioning FBOs as Critical Agencies in the HIV/AIDS Response in South Africa
In spite of significant gains achieved in the fight against HIV/AIDS, it remains a huge public health challenge in South Africa. Therefore, there is a need for continuous concerted efforts involving critical agencies like faith- based organizations (FBOs) that are already prominent in health care. The chapter examines how FBOs involved in HIV/AIDS response can be repositioned and further empowered. Though FBOs remain very critical and relevant to the national response in the country given their grassroots reach and influence; there is ambivalence on the value of such roles and how they relate to the national response. The main findings include: FBOs are not fully integrated into the national response framework; in spite of laudable strides, FBOs still embody a negative influence on the response especially in terms of the use of condoms; FBOs lack capacity in such crucial areas as networking and partnership; however, they are active in rural enclaves and in the prevention and care aspects of the response. There is a need to strengthen these FBOs, align their initiatives to both the national framework and orthodox knowledge regarding the pandemic. This chapter recommends programs to build the managerial and technical capacities of these FBOs
Part of the book: Public Health