A FLUID TWO-WAY STREET: SOUTH AFRICAN HIV/AIDS NGOs AND THEIR ENVIRONMENT

Recognizing that Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) do not exist in isolation, this article seeks to analyze NGOs in South Africa who have the mission of addressing HIV/AIDS and how they impact, and are in turn affected, by the surrounding environment. Specific examples of this exchange are provided, along with an example of NGOs who are not best responding to the needs of the community. HIV/AIDS in South Africa is a prevailing public health issue. The rate of HIV/AIDS is very high, especially for women, and this is compounded by gender-based violence and stigma. As the HIV/AIDS crisis erupted in the 1990s, South Africans were focusing on the transition from Apartheid, which officially ended in April 1994; this political context impacted the work of NGOs addressing HIV/AIDS. Open Systems Theory and Social Development Theory provide a contextual framework for this analysis. This article concludes that HIV/AIDS NGOs operating in South Africa affect the local community, and then this surrounding environment in turn impacts the work of NGOs, resulting in a continuous two-way exchange