The Effects Of Hiv/Aids-Related Mortality On Family Structures In Namibia: Selected Case Studies From Namibian Aids Service Organisations

Abstract

This research dissertation was undertaken to increase knowledge of the effects of AIDS related adult mortality on family structures in Namibia. Previous research focused mainly on very specific effects like food security or the needs of OVCs. This research includes changes in family size, form, composition, economic activities and distribution of the care burden as a result of AIDS related adult morbidity and mortality.

The researcher combined a critical approach towards the literature with a qualitative, ethnographic approach to the empirical study. The rural fieldwork was done in villages around Eehana, Okongo and Engela in the Ohangwena Region of Namibia. Fieldwork in the urban area was done in Katutura, Windhoek. The target population consisted of HIV and AIDS affected families. Access to these families was facilitated by NGOs that provide services to them. Semi-structured interviews (SSIs), Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were the primary tools of empirical data collection.

The key findings were that AIDS mortality intersects with other social factors to bring about changes in family structures. Mortality influences the composition of the families as it depletes the middle layer; therefore the most frequently occurring family form was the matrifocal family, headed by an elderly female with a number of younger dependents who could be grandchildren, great grandchildren, the children of the departed husband’s co-wives or of other members of the kinship group. As a result of migration and mortality, family and household boundaries do not always intersect. This gives rise to split

households within the family. Household boundaries are often porous with constant inward and outward migration due to high levels of mortality and out of wedlock birth rates. Adult mortality results in income and productivity losses which in turn give rise to food insecurity, starvation and a lack of access to services. Despite these hardships the majority of OVCs in affected families are able to stay in school and to benefit from care and support within the extended family network. The findings do not support theories of family decline, but rather that AIDS mortality brings about changes in family form, size, composition and economic reproduction.