HIV/AIDS: Caring for HIV-Infected People in South Africa Requires Love, Patience and 200 Liters of Water Per Day

• Source:

• IRC. 2007. Newsletter, May 2007. Delft, IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre

• URL:

• http://www.irc.nl/page/36137

• Countries:

• South Africa

• Summary:

• Home-based caregivers provide critical support for people who are HIV infected and ill in South Africa as in many other countries. However, their role is made more difficult by limited water supplies and in some cases by inadequate toilets. Limits on water supply also compromise the impact of health and hygiene education and promotion carried out by community health workers. Members of four local Home-Based Care (HBC) groups visit households with HIV infected people three times a week in this community. The caregivers undertake a wide range of activities, including fetching water, bathing patients, washing, laundry, digging pits for solid waste disposal, cleaning households and yards, assistance with access to social, health and other services, and providing counselling, information and support.