Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: The Politics of Participation: Hydropolicy, HIV/AIDS and Women's Health in Lesotho

University Of South Florida, Tampa FL

Investigators

Abstract

Doctoral candidate Cassandra Workman-Whaler (University of South Florida), with the guidance of Dr. Nancy Y. Romero-Daza, will conduct research on how multiple crises may combine to affect human lives. The particular focus of this project will be on the combined epidemics of water insecurity and HIV/AIDS. These apparently separate crises develop synergy because safe and reliable water is necessary to prevent infections among people with HIV, to grow household gardens to maintain adequate nutrition, and to ensure anti-retroviral drug adherence. Since women are the ones primarily responsible for the procurement of water, water insecurity impacts their ability to effectively provide care for both healthy and ill family members and, as a result, creates additional work and stress. Presently, gender considerations are being written into policy and programs throughout southern Africa. Researchers and policy analysts question the efficacy of these approaches and note the need for a grounded understanding of their impact. This project will address that need. The research will be carried out in Lesotho. The researcher will document and analyze the combined impacts of water insecurity and HIV/AIDS on women, as well as women's coping strategies. The researcher will employ a mixed methods approach using both quantitative methods from the field of public health and qualitative methods from the field of anthropology. The researcher will measure water insecurity and contributing factors such as food insecurity and poverty. The effects of water insecurity and illness such as HIV will be assessed through surveys, interviews, observations and focus groups. Finally interviews with people working in development and with local women will explore the efficacy of programs targeted at ameliorating both water insecurity and the effects of HIV/AIDS. The research is critically important because mutually reinforcing crises are common but are under-theorized by social scientists. The methodology employed in this project offers a holistic approach to this understudied phenomenon. The research will have policy impacts because access to safe and reliable sources of water is crucial for individuals and families affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Funding this research also supports the education of a social scientist.