Abstract
This paper explores the implications of Home Based Care on women’s workload in the context of high HIV and AIDS prevalence rates in Zimbabwe as the country has experienced serious health worker migration since 2000. Health worker migration in Zimbabwe as a result of the weak performance of the economy over the years has inadvertently increased women’s workload as more and more people adopt Home Based Care for their terminally ill family members suffering from HIV and AIDS. Home-based care has been one of the most effective community care strategies in Zimbabwe for people living with HIV and AIDS. To explore this state of affairs the paper adopted the theory of reflexive modernity which argues that the progressive freeing of the agency from structure has the effect of releasing people from the inherent constrains of the socio-structural tradition of modernity. The conclusion is that in the Zimbabwean context were women are viewed as the ‘natural’ care givers reflexive modernity may fail to apply as increased health worker migration is increasing women’s workload as more women are involved in Home Based Care in the context of high HIV and AIDS prevalence rates.
Highlights
Introduction and BackgroundThis paper examines the impact of Home Based Care (HBC) on women‟s workload in the face of HIV and AIDS and high health worker migration as a result of the weak performance2012, Vol 3, No 2 of the Zimbabwe economy over the course of more than a decade
As noted by Mundia (2008, 21) „Home-Based Care is care given to ill people in their home. This care is provided by relatives, friends and/or community volunteers working for a non-governmental organization (NGO).‟ Launched in 1992 the concept of home-based-care for HIV and Aids patients was hailed as the panacea for taking care of the individuals with AIDS
As this paper has discussed high prevalence rates of HIV/AIDS in a non-performing economy like Zimbabwe is having an impact on female workload as women are becoming the main care givers under Home Based Care
Summary
This paper examines the impact of Home Based Care (HBC) on women‟s workload in the face of HIV and AIDS and high health worker migration as a result of the weak performance. As a result of the above challenges more and more HIV and AIDS patients in the terminal and most taxing stage of the illness are currently taking up Home Based Care. As has been noted by many studies, in an economic downturn women tend to suffer more and more as their workload increases Their economic, educational and career aspirations suffer in the process as they are the first ones to be withdrawn from these sectors to provide care to their kin mainly in the African context as they are presumed to be the natural caregivers. It can be observed that this expectation and the reality on the ground in Africa in the face of HIV and AIDS does run counter to propositions by advocates of reflexive modernity like Beck (1992, 135) who argue that “...people are being released from the constraints of gender -------men and women are released from traditional forms of ascribed roles.”
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