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Periodical issue Periodical issue Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:AIDS and healing strategies in South Africa
Editor:Nattrass, NicoliISNI
Year:2005
Periodical:Social Dynamics (ISSN 0253-3952)
Volume:31
Issue:2
Pages:303
Language:English
Geographic term:South Africa
Subjects:AIDS
healers
traditional medicine
health care
medical sciences
divination
External link:https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rsdy20/31/2?nav=tocList
Abstract:Highly active antiretroviral therapy is the most effective means of extending the lives of people living with AIDS, yet only 25 percent of those in South Africa estimated to need it are receiving such treatment. Those who cannot access this therapy, or choose not to take it, may opt to use 'traditional' healing instead. Some people will do both. In this respect the State has an obligation to provide information to AIDS patients about the best scientifically tested medications. The articles in this special issue focus on the interface between biomedical and traditional healing in South Africa in the context of the AIDS pandemic, highlighting complexity and ambiguity rather than any bipolar 'Western' versus 'traditional medicine'. They explore issues such as the world view of traditional healers, 'inyanga' (herbalist) and 'sangoma' (diviner), their approach to treating AIDS and their explanations for the AIDS pandemic; the professionalization and regulation of traditional healers; the attitudes on the part of conventional health practitioners towards the involvement of traditional healers in AIDS care; AIDS training for traditional healers and collaborations between Western and traditional healers with regard to AIDS interventions; the potential role of HIV-positive 'sangoma' in bridging the divide between traditional and Western biomedicine; the views and actions of patients in their quest for healing; the role of science and the challenges posed by alternative (whether 'traditional' or otherwise) therapies; and contrasting cultural strategies to promote adherence to antiretroviral therapy. Contributions are by Nicoli Nattrass, Patricia Henderson, Jo Wreford, Sumaya Mall, Elizabeth Mills, Nathan Geffen, Adam Ashforth and Annie Devenish. [ASC Leiden abstract]
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