Department of Sociology, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
World Food Programme, Southern Africa Regional Office, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Afr J AIDS Res. 2023 Jul;22(2):113-122. doi: 10.2989/16085906.2023.2203131. Epub 2023 Jun 20.
Despite notable political and financial commitment to fight the HIV epidemic, east and southern Africa (ESA) remains the world regions most affected. Given increasing calls for the implementation of HIV-sensitive social protection programmes to address the multiple individual, community and societal factors that heighten the risk of HIV infection, this article explores the extent to which social protection mechanisms in the region are HIV sensitive. The article is based on a two-phase project where the first phase entailed a desktop review of national social protection policies and programmes. In the second phase, multisectoral stakeholder consultations conducted were 15 fast-track countries in the region. The key findings suggest that social protection policies and social assistance programmes in ESA do not specifically target HIV issues or people living with, at risk of, or affected by HIV. Rather, and in line with the countries' constitutional provisions, the programmes tend to be inclusive of the vulnerabilities of various populations including people living with HIV. To this end, the programmes can be seen as generally sufficient to encompass HIV-related issues and the needs of people infected and affected by the epidemic. However, a recurring argument from many stakeholders is that, to the extent that people living with HIV are often reluctant to either disclose their status and/or access social protection services, it is critical for social protection policies and programmes to be explicitly HIV sensitive. The article thus concludes by making recommendations in this regard as well as by making a class for multisectoral partners to work collaboratively to ensure that social protection policies and programmes are transformative.
尽管在防治艾滋病方面做出了显著的政治和财政承诺，但东非和南非（ESA）仍然是受影响最严重的世界区域。鉴于越来越多的人呼吁实施对艾滋病有敏感认识的社会保护方案，以解决加剧艾滋病感染风险的个人、社区和社会等多方面因素，本文探讨了该区域的社会保护机制在多大程度上对艾滋病有敏感认识。本文基于一个两阶段的项目，第一阶段涉及对国家社会保护政策和方案的桌面审查。在第二阶段，对该区域的 15 个快速通道国家进行了多部门利益攸关方磋商。主要结果表明，ESA 的社会保护政策和社会援助方案并非专门针对艾滋病毒问题或艾滋病毒感染者、处于感染风险中或受艾滋病影响的人。相反，这些方案符合各国的宪法规定，往往包容了各种人群的脆弱性，包括艾滋病毒感染者。为此，这些方案可以被视为足以涵盖与艾滋病毒相关的问题以及受艾滋病感染和影响的人的需求。然而，许多利益攸关方反复提出的一个观点是，由于艾滋病毒感染者往往不愿透露自己的状况和/或获得社会保护服务，因此社会保护政策和方案必须明确对艾滋病有敏感认识。因此，本文在这方面提出了建议，并呼吁多部门伙伴开展合作，确保社会保护政策和方案具有变革性。
