Absence of Precaution Contribute to HIV Spread. 2/10/10

The main issue is delivery of basic services and needs

The HIV and AIDS pandemic poses a significant economic impact in developing countries and Swaziland is no exception.

All sectors, including housing, need to explore the risks and impacts on them and undertake analyses, both situational and responsive so that appropriate policies and strategies developed are aimed at  reducing infection, mitigate the negative effects on the development structures and support all those households infected or affected by the pandemic.
Human settlements, as was defined at Vancouver Declaration on Human Settlement in 1976, mean the totality of the human community – whether city, town, or community/village – with all the social, material, organisational, spiritual and cultural elements that sustain it.

Settlements in Swaziland
The main issue is delivery of basic services and needs including housing, water, sanitation, electricity and waste removal in human settlements. Settlements are still socially and economically divided. Everywhere near towns and cities, there is a rapid expansion of informal settlements.
In Swaziland, there has been some success in service delivery, most notably with clean water and electricity- rural electrification projects. But many poor households still lack access to basic needs, notably adequate sanitation facilities and housing.
There are many known waste disposal sites which are not permitted, and there are many illegal dumping sites across the country which make the country unclean. Many waste sites do not meet the required environmental health standards, thus many settlements are located near to unhealthy areas, which poses health risks to the people living there.

Changes in settlements
Urbanisation and its growth rate due to migration from within and outside the country causes change in settlements.
These changes challenge the capacity of government to deliver services and results in other consequences like reduced quality of life for both urban and rural dwellers, especially the poor and those without access to basic services.
Environmentalists have observed that changes in settlements lead to degradation of ecosystems through consumption patterns and production of wastes and pollutants.

Shelter Provision
There is no department responsible for shelter provision for the poor. Responsibility for facilitating housing issues in Swaziland  rests with the ministry of housing.
We all know that  by simply providing the poor with an asset in terms of shelter; basic connector services such as water, sanitation and internal roads; as well as secure residence, with such, contributes significantly to alleviating poverty.
The challenge with housing is that there is no advice to the rural poor people on how to construct quality houses, regardless of  land availability.
Many rural people are struggling to construct houses with durable materials, but with lack of advice they end up with poor and badly constructed houses which may not meet standards. Unless housing for the rural people is considered a major component of settlement development in Swaziland and as service delivery, housing standard will remain a challenge.
The challenge will be felt mostly by the poor rural people. And will impact negatively on government initiatives for meeting the MDGs

Inheritance Rights
As we discuss human settlement, we observe that HIV and AIDS has further complicated the issue of the inheritance rights of women and children. When a husband dies, maybe of AIDS related conditions, often the widow being left behind who has no rights to own land or the house, will be evicted by her relatives.
Children are also vulnerable when both parents die leading to homelessness or child-headed households.
Household incomes in most cases are reduced because HIV and AIDS infected persons need specialised drugs and need care by other members of the family.
This results in lack of surplus money for housing development or improvement. This situation is worse in rural areas.
In urban settings we observe a different practice, if the widow or orphans  fail to pay rates, the  property risks being auctioned or forced selling.

HIV and Housing
HIV and AIDS is indeed a housing issue, especially among women and children who constitute the majority of the world’s poor housing dwellers. Families coping with HIV and AIDS are not able to contribute to housing because of lost income and medical expenditures.
Governments as of now, have not shown willingness or unable to provide housing to people living with HIV. Often children have to drop out of school to care for sick parents or even guardians. When parents die children end up living with grandparents who are often not able to care properly for them.
Too many children end up living on city streets. Without proper water and sanitation, the risks of opportunistic infections are greatly increased. People who are homeless and living in great poverty do not receive proper nourishment, are more susceptible to infections and much likelier to experience a speedy decline into AIDS related illnesses.

Commitment
Swaziland is committed to improving the health status of the Swazi people. And will be committed to improving human settlement conditions one day, by whichever means.
This includes addressing HIV and AIDS issues as it relate to housing; providing adequate shelter for all; improving human settlement management; promoting sustainable land-use planning and management; promoting the integrated provision of environmental infrastructure: water, sanitation, drainage and solid waste management; promoting sustainable construction activities and promoting capacity-building for human settlement development.

Conclusion
This piece of work attempted to provide the need to focus on human settlements as addressing HIV and AIDS interventions. In spite of achievements in certain areas of service delivery, government remains hard pressed to meet the growing demand for basic services and reduce existing backlogs.
As a result, many thousands of the poor households still do not have access to adequate basic services, which in turn deepens the impact of poverty and undermines human well-being.
Settlements in urban areas are more vulnerable to health risks caused by environmental pollution. This is evident in the one-room structures - Titimela.  It is hoped that with time the settlement impression will change.