Conceptualising housing as a problem for poor people living with HIV/AIDS in Botswana: A case study of Gaborone

Kgosi, Kelebogile 2010. Conceptualising housing as a problem for poor people living with HIV/AIDS in Botswana: A case study of Gaborone. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University.

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Abstract

This study explores the housing related problems and constraints faced by poor people living with HIV/AIDS in Gaborone. The study concurrently examines the housing interventions provided by the different housing providers, particularly looking into the availability, accessibility and affordability of the housing-related services in the form suitable for PPLWHA. Housing is one of the largest unmet needs among the poor people living with HIV/AIDS in Gaborone although it is a basic need. The lack of sanitary and stable housing has been key in housing and HIV/AIDS debates around the world and has been attributed with profound effects on the management of HIV/AIDS among PPLWHA. The study hinges on critical realism theory and posits that the housing problems faced by PPLWHA are not an outcome of a single cause but of a web of interacting and interconnected, social, economic, political and environmental factors apparent in Botswana. A qualitative semi-structured strategy through in-depth interviews is used in this study to explore the following: firstly, the housing problems and constraints faced by PPLWHA as well as the strategies they adopt to respond to these problems. Secondly, to gain perspectives of lands and housing policy makers as well as personnel offering housing and housing related services who were interviewed to provide a picture of the implementation of policies, programs and services intended to respond to the housing for poor people. The major conclusion of the thesis is that poverty and HIV/AIDS are interconnected and primary in the everyday life of PPLWHA, and limit their opportunity to afford and access sanitary housing. Consequently they are limited to inhabit poor and unsanitary housing environments in informal housing markets which make it difficult for them to manage their health. The study argues that the housing problems faced by PPLWHA go beyond the observable conditions of poverty and HIV/AIDS. There are other underlying structural barriers, observable and non-observable, which contribute to the housing problems faced by PPLWHA. Firstly, the lack of sanitary and affordable housing, which incorporates the issue of housing finance which is suitable for those on a low income and the poor. Secondly, limited governmental support in the regulation and control of the informal housing market for low income people, thirdly the lack of collaboration of housing organisations aimed at housing the poor and vulnerable people in the country and fourthly the social structures such as cultural norms and traditional beliefs and gender inequalities which are interconnected with HIV/AIDS and poverty which exacerbate housing problems of PPLWHA. This study recommends that if Botswana is to tackle the spread and treatment of HI V and AIDS in society, the lack of adequate housing must be addressed as a barrier to effective HIV prevention, management and care. It is crucial to address the need for stable housing for people with HIV and AIDS.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Geography and Planning (GEOPL)
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GF Human ecology. Anthropogeography
ISBN:	9781303196225
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	30 March 2016
Last Modified:	07 Nov 2019 09:07
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/54433

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