Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2005. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
South African Press Association - April 19, 2005
'The policy looks at long-term housing solutions providing housing for those infected by HIV/Aids and the families who need to help them survive and to continue to live after the infected have died,' Liz Freud, of the Department of Health, said at the launch.
Freud's work includes cooperating with all the provincial housing departments and civil society on HIV/Aids issues.
With 15% of the Gauteng population HIV-positive, the provincial housing department said it is critical to form a housing-sector response to HIV/Aids.
This should consider its socio-economic impact, such as child-headed families, dependence on extended families and the effects on employers.
'We have come to realise that HIV/Aids not only ravages households, but also disrupts the socio-economic system of the country.
'It leads to low productivity at the shop-floor level [and] robs families of breadwinners by rendering them economically inactive, thus compounding the problems of poverty,' said Godfrey Tsotetsi, chairperson of the standing committee for housing in the Gauteng legislature.Under the housing plan, houses will be built so that those infected and affected by HIV/Aids are near to health care and educational facilities, have access to water and sanitation and have access to community support and home-based care.
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