Challenges
A different perspective
The issues raised in this resource highlight how institutional structures, aid architecture, and narrow disciplinary perspectives have led to HIV and AIDS being categorised as a problem for the health sector only. This has meant the failure to achieve potential synergies of integration: in certain quarters, it is still considered a health crisis, while at the same time, social scientists and development practitioners have not engaged sufficiently with the various health dimensions of the disease. It is now clear that many factors have made it very difficult to slow down the spread of the infection and that the impact goes well beyond the suffering and early death of those who are infected. The broader issues need to be addressed by all those involved. This means we must engage with the issues across different disciplines and sectors, despite differing languages and institutional inertia. The complex inter-relations of the issues raised by HIV and AIDS challenges us to adopt not only a multi-disciplinary, but also an inter-disciplinary analysis and language for generating more useful new insights.
This raises a number of challenges.
Finally, what is most crucial in the response to HIV and AIDS is the involvement and inclusion of people living with HIV and AIDS and their communities. Communities need to be leading the response. Moreover, the international community needs to learn from community experiences. This requires a fundamental shift in the way international organisations, researchers and funders operate. A global network of small communities needs to feed into the debates and discussions. This key issues guide does not claim to have the answers, but rather suggests issues and provokes ideas for making connections for future research. As pointed out by Peter Piot of UNAIDS, HIV and AIDS has re-written the rules of public health and re-writing the rules of development is becoming increasingly necessary. If this can be achieved, it should not only contribute to a better understanding of the epidemic and more co-ordinated and adequate responses to it, but could also inject fresh new ways of researching, doing and talking 'development' more broadly.
The issues raised in this resource highlight how institutional structures, aid architecture, and narrow disciplinary perspectives have led to HIV and AIDS being categorised as a problem for the health sector only. This has meant the failure to achieve potential synergies of integration: in certain quarters, it is still considered a health crisis, while at the same time, social scientists and development practitioners have not engaged sufficiently with the various health dimensions of the disease. It is now clear that many factors have made it very difficult to slow down the spread of the infection and that the impact goes well beyond the suffering and early death of those who are infected. The broader issues need to be addressed by all those involved. This means we must engage with the issues across different disciplines and sectors, despite differing languages and institutional inertia. The complex inter-relations of the issues raised by HIV and AIDS challenges us to adopt not only a multi-disciplinary, but also an inter-disciplinary analysis and language for generating more useful new insights.
This raises a number of challenges.
- how can the evidence from such different disciplines be merged into coherent policies and responses?
- how can the infrastructure cope with the need for cross and multi-sectoral needs, analysis and responses?
- how can silos of information and knowledge be broken down and opened up?
- how can we overcome the barriers of institutional structures and cultures?
Finally, what is most crucial in the response to HIV and AIDS is the involvement and inclusion of people living with HIV and AIDS and their communities. Communities need to be leading the response. Moreover, the international community needs to learn from community experiences. This requires a fundamental shift in the way international organisations, researchers and funders operate. A global network of small communities needs to feed into the debates and discussions. This key issues guide does not claim to have the answers, but rather suggests issues and provokes ideas for making connections for future research. As pointed out by Peter Piot of UNAIDS, HIV and AIDS has re-written the rules of public health and re-writing the rules of development is becoming increasingly necessary. If this can be achieved, it should not only contribute to a better understanding of the epidemic and more co-ordinated and adequate responses to it, but could also inject fresh new ways of researching, doing and talking 'development' more broadly.
- AIDS: questions for development
- J. Edstrom; L. Turquet; I. Young / Institute of Development Studies, Sussex, UK, 2006
- Recommended reading
- This IDS Policy Briefing assesses past and current efforts to understand AIDS in relation to development and to identify key policy and research gaps. The briefing considers 4 key questions. Can we go...
