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'HIV/AIDS, Illness and African Well-Being' highlights the specific health problems facing Africa today, most particularly the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Taking a multi-disciplinary approach, the book presents not only various health crises, but also the larger historical and contemporary contexts within which they must be understood and managed. Chapters offering analysis of specific illness case studies, and the effects of globalization and underdevelopment on health, provide an overarching context in which HIV/AIDS and other health-related concerns can be understood. The contributions on the HIV/AIDS pandemic grapple with the complications of national and international policies, the sociological effects of the pandemic, and policy options for the future. 'HIV/AIDS, Illness and African Well-Being' thus provides a comprehensive view of health issues currently plaguing the continent and the many different ways that scholars are interpreting the health outlook in Africa. Contributors: Obijiofor Aginam, Yacouba Banhoro, Richard Beilock, Charity Chenga, Mandi Chikombero, Kaley Creswell, Freek Cronjé, Frank N. F. Dadzie, Gabriel B. Fosu, Stephen Obeng-Manu Gyimah, Kathryn H. Jacobsen, W. Bediako Lamousé-Smith, William N. Mkanta, Gerald M. Mumma, Kalala Ngalamulume, Raphael Chijioke Njoku, Cecilia S. Obeng, Iruka N. Okeke, Akpen Philip, Baffour K. Takyi, Melissa K. Van Dyke, Sophie Wertheimer, Ellen A. S. Whitney. Toyin Falola is the Francis Nalle Higgenbothom Centennial Professor of History and Distinuished Teaching at the University of Texas at Austin. Matthew M. Heaton is a PhD candidate at the University of Texas at Austin.
Health issues in mining communities in South Africa are unique because of the nature of the mining industry. The illnesses and diseases that will be discussed in this chapter are not exclusive to the mining industry, but it is the risk factors associated with the mining environment and communities that exacerbate the incidence of these illnesses and diseases and make the subject matter burning and relevant.
The unique characteristics of the mining environment in South Africa are that mining communities are mainly isolated, originally rural with high illiteracy rates, and consequently, they become dependent on the mining companies for their livelihood and development. The rural-based environment often becomes barren and ugly from large-scale excavation. In addition, communities are often exposed to toxic environmental hazards from mine operation wastes. Mining is by its nature a temporary activity because of its dependence on the available mineral deposits. It is also fast growing and generates high earnings for the mining corporations, which has an impact on the local communities, who are usually unable to respond to this across-the-board momentum because of their rural background. Consequently, the local population experiences cultural shock and does not respond effectively to the developmental changes, occupational skills requirements, and rapid change from an agricultural-based society to a cash-dependent environment. This has resulted in companies depending on labor from elsewhere.