Overview
Terrifying in it's potential and devastating in it's impact, AIDS is now widespread in a number of African countries. Estimates suggest that as many as five an a half million people on the continent are currently carrying the virus. The AIDS epidemic is among the most severe problems faced by Africans, already weakened by drought, poverty, civil war, and debt. Tony Barnett and Piers Blaikie, who have studied the impact of AIDS in Uganda, present a sensitive and compelling analysis of human cost of this dread disease in Africa.Synopsis
Terrifying in i&tgrave;s potential and devastating in i&tgrave;s impact, AIDS is now widespread in a number of African countries. Estimates suggest that as many as five an a half million people on the continent are currently carrying the virus. The AIDS epidemic is among the most severe problems faced by Africans, already weakened by drought, poverty, civil war, and debt. Tony Barnett and Piers Blaikie, who have studied the impact of AIDS in Uganda, present a sensitive and compelling analysis of human cost of this dread disease in Africa.
Booknews
An analysis of the social and economic consequence of AIDS in Africa, with special reference to Uganda, where the authors were involved in an 18-month research project. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Editorials
From the Publisher
"Barnett and Blaikie's AIDS IN AFRICA is an important contribution to the AIDS literature in several critical respects. First, it links the course of AIDS with patterns of development in developing countries, and stresses the complete socio-economic context of the disease. The complicated interrelationship between women's economic and social position and the spread of AIDS through the continent is explained on a theoretical basis and demonstrated on a practical level with material from their field studies in Uganda.Additionally, Barnett and Blaikie present preliminary data and a model of the impact of AIDS mortality on agriculture, where labor loss threatens the existence of families surviving extensive AIDS losses....Their use of household cycles in relation to AIDS mortality adds a new perspective to the application of family studies in demography.
In short, the book is seminal. I recommend it for professionals in public health, development, women's studies, anthropology, agriculture, and AIDS studies, and for students in any of those fields. In fact, the book is ideal for students because it raises ideas crisply, succinctly, and provocatively, providing rich material for discussion of this intensely important subject." --Susan S. Hunter, Ph.D.
"Fresh, original, and compelling....The profound demographic, social, and economic repercussions of HIV/AIDS on individuals (women in particular), households, and communities are presented carefully and comprehensively. The analysis is buttressed with new empirical data, and Barnett and Blaikie are sensitive to the complexity and nuances of their materials. The book will be useful as both a professional reference and a text for graduate and upper-division undergraduate courses in development studies, medical anthropology, medical geography, public health, and so on." --Charles M. Good, Virginia Polytechnic Institute