DESTIGMATIZE
women’s health and educational centers in Maputo
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Destigmatize
Emma Colley & Julia Nasti Pratt Institute School of Architecture Degree Project 2015 - 2016 | Tyranny of Numbers
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Destigmatize
Table of Contents
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THE COMPETITION
brief | general information and guidelines
THE CITY / MAPUTO urban context | history and environment
THE MOTIVATION
social context | women’s rights and health
THE SITE & PROGRAM requirements and considerations
THE SUBMISSION judging and selection
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The Competition
THE COMPETITION
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HIV infection carries tremendous stigma in Maputo.
The Competition
HIV can be destigmatized by combining treatment centers with educational centers. The program evolves with the community; there will be an inverse relationship between the increasing awareness and the diminishing infection.
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Genealogy
This competition sets out to investigate the stigma of living with HIV as a woman in Maputo, Mozambique. With the fifth highest rate of HIV in the world, Mozambique acts as a microcosm of gender politics related to this virus. Many social factors and conditions within the built environment exacerbate the issues of living with and managing HIV. Ultimately, there is a strong relationship between the rights of women and their health. And currently, both of these are routinely degraded and threatened. Through this competition, we aim to destigmatize HIV by strengthening the role of the female. Maputo is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. In the early 20th century, Maputo—then known as Lourenco Marques—developed under Portuguese rule and achieved great importance. With the continuous growth of the city’s population and expanding economy, the government began to build a successful infrastructure. In 1974, the Mozambique Liberation Front, or FRELIMO, fought for independence from Portuguese rule. Lasting over ten years, the War of Independence ended in
1974 and The People’s Republic of Mozambique was proclaimed. However, the newly independent country could not allocate resources to maintain its welldeveloped infrastructure. Forty years later, Maputo has experienced fluctuating prosperity and steady population growth. Today, Maputo—together with neighboring Matola—has approximately 2.5 million inhabitants. This is projected to grow to more than four million by 2025. Because it expands beyond its formal boundaries, Maputo likely has a substantially higher population than official figures suggest. The city is one of the largest urban areas in sub-Saharan Africa. However, this rapid urbanization is causing many problems. Despite population growth—or perhaps because of—Mozambique is one of the most impoverished nations in the world, ranked 175th out of 179 countries on the UN Human Development Index. Seventy percent of the population survives beneath the poverty line and an estimated 54 percent are unemployed; the statutory minimum wage equates to
$37 per month. More than one million of the country’s children do not attend school. The list goes on; it is Stigma and discrimination are key shocking citizens of a developed country but routine determinants of increased HIV for those experiencing rapid growth. Through this gross vulnerability. display of economic and social inequality, no one is more affected than women. Politically and socially, females among sex workers is twelve times greater than among are outcast. the general population. Stigma and discrimination, At a glimpse, Maputo appears to be at the forefront violence and punitive legal and social environments of women’s rights. The Maputo Protocol, adopted by are key determinants of this increased HIV vulnerability. the African Union and signed in 2003, guarantees Punitive environments have been shown to limit the comprehensive rights to women including the right to availability, access and uptake of HIV prevention, take part in the political process, to social and political treatment, care and support for sex workers and their equality, to control of their reproductive health, and an clients. end to female genital mutilation. While the intentions of the Protocol are progressive, eighteen countries in In Maputo, a large portion of HIV transmission can be Africa have yet to ratify and utilize the Protocol after over traced to the EN1 highway, where female sex workers are a decade of signing it. In Mozambique, women’s rights subject to the infection. Extending up from Matola and are still a veil. The country has one of the highest rates throughout western Maputo, the EN1 lines with female of forced child marriage in the world. One in three girls sex workers come sundown. Throughout the night, truck will be married before the age of eighteen, and 12% will drivers pull into one of the roadside stations for beer and be married before fifteen years old. As of 2014, rights a rapidinha or “quickie.” Not surprisingly, this traceable activists in Mozambique have been protesting a colonial spread of disease is common along the entire TransAfrican highway network. While these relatively new highway systems create environments for increased Through the gross display of economic interaction, communication, and trade, it is clear that and social inequality, no one is more these factors aren’t always beneficial or progressive.
affected than women.
era law still included in new legislation that allows rapists to go unpunished if they marry their victims. Despite political progress, there are still deeply engrained social standards throughout the country.
By following major roads and freeways, researchers can track both the spread and evolution of this highly mutable virus. Studies have shown that proximity to national and regional roads was most highly correlated with HIV prevalence in individuals. Villages and homesteads located closest to busy, well-traveled roads reported a significantly higher prevalence of HIV. One such road in this study was used as a major trucking route that connects South Africa’s major ports on the coast, such as Durban and Richards Bay, to cities in Mozambique and Swaziland, such as Maputo.
The lack of women’s rights leads to the lack of education and employment opportunity. Thirty three percent of women in Mozambique are literate. Women and girls lack sexual education and self-empowerment, which makes them extremely susceptible to HIV transmission. Sex trafficking is not uncommon among women in Maputo, Patterns validate the inequities that women and young and the majority of female sex workers lack comprehen- girls face, specifically when looking at Mozambique. sive knowledge of HIV. Not surprisingly, HIV prevalence Their seclusion creates an “othering”, which shows
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through gender-based violence and fault for being female. The push towards equality is necessary. Women and girls need to learn to thrive, and in order for that to occur, must be granted even the most lesser of rights. A chain reaction occurs, all due to a series of unfortunate circumstances. The inadequacy of access to education leaves women unaware of how to stand up for their rights, believing they are, themselves, inadequate. This lack of education and lack of self-confidence leaves women not only unable to understand the infection, but feel as though they cannot protect themselves from it. Severe transformations are needed to change the imbalances and inequities these women face.
risk and vulnerability conditions for adolescent girls and women across the sub region.
Ultimately, this is a pattern that is stuck in motion. While the rest of the world has a cure for AIDS in sight, the situation in Maputo is showing something else. This project seeks to collectively empower women by giving them the education they need for self-awareness and stability, which in the end helps them understand the decisions they need to make to excel. These women can learn about the infection and become aware of their options, or if they are already infected, they can have a chance at care and treatment. The goal is to lessen infection rates while education and treatment grows. The data collected are stark and worrisome. More than Through community building and architecture, HIV and forty percent of new infections among women are among AIDS can be destigmatized in Maputo. young women (ages 15–24). HIV prevalence among adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 years is unacceptably high. This clearly shows a failure to protect them and meet their sexual and reproductive health needs as they prepare for adulthood. Adolescent girls in Mozambique have an HIV prevalence of seven percent, which doubled to 15% by the time they were 25 years of age. This pattern is repeated in almost every country in eastern and southern Africa. In West and central Africa, similar patterns are also observed, but at a slightly lower scale, indicating similar
The Competition
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The Competition
“I was falling sick all the time so my neighbors encouraged me to get tested. A couple of hospitals tested me as HIV negative, but I kept falling ill. I persisted until I found a doctor who had the right equipment to test me, and it showed I was positive for HIV.� Rute, a single mother of six living in Maputo
Introduction
Mozambique has the fifth highest number of people living with HIV in the world. In Maputo, gender inequality contributes to the spread of the disease. It can increase infection rates, and reduce the ability of women and girls to cope with the epidemic. Often, they have less information about HIV and fewer resources to take preventive measures. Not surprisingly, the largest portion of new HIV infections are among young females. By the time a woman is twenty-five, there is a 20% chance she will be diagnosed with the disease.
Many women living with HIV struggle with stigma and exclusion. Women living with HIV or widowed by AIDS may face property disputes further complicated by limited access to uphold their rights. Regardless of whether they themselves are living with HIV, women generally assume a disproportionate burden of care for others who are sick from or dying of AIDS, along with the orphans that are left behind. These issues, among others, can reduce prospects for education and employment.
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The Client
ActionAid is an NGO that works in over 40 countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. They help to create better futures by helping the less fortunate, providing relief from disasters and conflicts, empowering women, fighting hunger, holding governments accountable, and making education accessible. ActionAid connects on a personal level by working directly with groups of people in need and targeting in on their immediate needs.
ActionAid’s concerns with women’s rights and education works tandemly with the proposed program on this competition. Their view on the struggles of women, specifically in Africa, drives a lot of their work to better the futures of the women and of their communities. While they have touched upon many different aspects of human rights and women’s rights, they have worked on many other global issues both socially and physically.
U.S. Office Washington D.C.
Mozambique Office Maputo
The Competition
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The Competition
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NEUTRALIZE
PROMOTE
PROVIDE
STRENGTHEN
SOLVE
the stigma associated with HIV and AIDS
education and awareness of the spread of HIV
greater access to treatment, care and support
the role of the female through community building and involvement
key factors propelling the HIV epidemic
Competition Objectives
This competition seeks to neutralize the stigma associated with HIV through awareness, education and community building. It must address key factors propelling the HIV epidemic, such as violence against women, denial of legal rights and women’s limited power in decision-making. The project should aim to create a health and educational center that strengthens the role of the female through community building and community involvement.
These centers will empower women and guarantee their rights so that they can overcome stigma and gain greater access to treatment, care and support. By planning for a morphological dual program—a treatment facility and an educational center—the building has the ability to change usages as HIV infection rates decrease. Through thoughtful architecture, we can reduce stigma in order to create an HIV neutral Maputo.
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The Competition
THE CITY / MAPUTO
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The Competition
Maputo, Mozambique
Mozambique, a former Portuguese colony, is one of the most impoverished nations in the world, ranked 175 out of 179 countries on the UN Human Development Index. Seventy percent of the population of 23 million survives beneath the poverty line and an estimated 54 percent are unemployed; the statutory minimum wage is US $37 a month. Annual per capita income for the population as a whole is only $807. Some 14 percent of the Mozambican people are infected with HIV, and more than 1 million of the country’s children do not attend school.
The capital city of Mozambique is Maputo, known as Lorenco Marques before independence. Today, it is the port city on the Indian Ocean, with its economy centered on the harbor. Maputo, together with neighboring Matola, currently has approximately 2.5 million inhabitants and is projected to grow to more than four million by 2025. It is one of the 15 largest urban areas in sub-Saharan Africa and, like other cities in the region, it is expanding beyond its formal boundaries and likely has a substantially higher population than the official figures suggest.
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Morphology of Maputo
The Competition
1920 Pre-Independence from Portugal At the beginning of the century, the ports of Lorenco Marques begin to develop and the city establishes itself as a trading hub of the Indian Ocean.
2015 Post-Independence from Portugal The Ilha Xefina Grande gets updated and remapped to show additional modification. Further developement of ports and of the coast show importance of and advancement of trade and transportation.
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Commercial, Services and Mixed Use Residential: High - Middle Density Residential: Low Density Industrial Social, Public and Industrial Ring Road and Ka Tembe Bridge Rail Network Road Network
The Competition
Rapid Urbanization
By 2025, the population of Maputo will reach 4 million.
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The Competition
Barrios of Maputo KaMpfumo
Central A/B/C Alto Maé Malhangalene Polana Cimento Sommerschield
KaMavota
Mavalane A/B Hulene A/B Ferroviário Laulane Costa do Sol
Nlhamankulu
Aeroporto A/B Xipamanine Minkadjuíne Chamanculo A/B/C/D Malanga Munhuana
KaMubukwana
Bagamoyo George Dimitrov Inhagoia A/B Jardim Magoanine
KaTembe KaMaxaquene
Mafalala Maxaquene A/B/C/D Polana Caniço A/B Urbanização
Gwachene Chale Inguice Xamissava Ncassene Sommerschield
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The Motivation
THE MOTIVATION
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The Competition
20% OF WOMEN IN MAPUTO ARE HIV POSITIVE
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HIV traveled along the Trans-African highway network. The highly mutable virus spreads and evolves on major roads and freeways. Villages and homesteads located closest to busy, well-traveled roads reported a significantly higher prevalence of HIV.
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change in NGO funding for HIV related work 17% funding increased 24% funding stayed the same 59% funding decreased zambia
zimbabwe
namibia botswana
maputo swaziland
lesotho south africa
The Motivation
HIV treatment in sub Saharan African aged 15 years or more 25 000 000
Number of People
20 000 000 15 000 000 10 000 000
5 000 000
People covered
100%
45%
39%
People living with HIV
People living with HIV who know their status
People living with HIV recieving ART
29% People living with HIV who supressed viral load
People no longer covered
HIV in sub Saharan Africa
The statistics are staggering. An estimated threequarters of the world’s AIDS population lives in subSaharan African. There are approximately 24.7 million people living with HIV in the region comprised of ten countries. Additionally, many of these people living with HIV are affected by political conflict, displacement and natural disaster. Due to diligent intervention, the number of AIDS related deaths in sub-Saharan African fell by 39% between 2005 and 2013. This success is directly
due to the rapid increase in the number of people on antiretroviral therapy. Even as access to this treatment expands, significant gaps remain. Chief among these is that only 45% of people living with HIV know their status. Fortunately, there is continued progress and hope in general for this region stricken with HIV.
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11.0%
14.0%
7.0% 3.0% .75%
1990
1995
2000
2005
2015
The Motivation
HIV in Mozambique
While the developed world has a cure for AIDS in sight, the situation in Mozambique is in crucial need of improvement. The data collected are stark and worrisome. More than forty percent of new infections among women are among young women ages 15 to 24. HIV prevalence among adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 years is unacceptably high. This clearly shows a failure to protect them and meet their sexual and reproductive health needs as they prepare for adulthood. Adolescent
girls in Mozambique have an HIV prevalence of seven percent, which doubled to 15% by the time they were 25 years of age. This pattern is repeated in almost every country in eastern and southern Africa.
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The Motivation
“Women around the world are more likely to live in poverty- just because they are women.”
Prevalence (%)
- ActionAid
UNAIDS 2013 estimates, The Gap Report
8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Botswana 15-19 female
Ethiopia
Kenya
Lesotho
15-19 male
Malawi
Mozambique
Rwanda
United Republic of Tanzania
Uganda
Zimbabwe
Young women and girls are forgotton. While the majority of new HIV infections occur among adults above the age of 25, a large proportion occur among young women and adolescent girls. The issues faced by young women and adolescent girls—genderbased violence including sexual abuse, lack of access to education and health services, as well as social protection and how they cope with these inequities and injustices determine how able they are to protect themselves from HIV or to access antiretroviral therapy while they are
young and move into adulthood. The risks and choices they make are shaped by their early experiences and radical transformations are required to break these barriers. UNAIDS, therefore, recommends a major movement to protect adolescent girls and young women.
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The Site/Program
THE SITE / PROGRAM
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The Site/Program
Munhuana, Maputo
The neighborhood of Munhuana, in Maputo received its name in the 1960s. It was first known as the Bairro Indígena—the “native neighborhood”—built by colonial authorities beginning in the 1940s as a public housing project for Africans who worked as laborers for the railroad or for the city. For a long time it was sharply distinct from almost everything around it. The tiny, cubelike semi-detached units were built of concrete blocks at a time when building in permanent materials was the exclusive right of citizens—and only a fraction of one percent of Mozambicans were considered Portuguese citizens. The Bairro Indígena was an island of solidity among thatched-roof huts.
For much of the colonial era, you didn’t have a choice in whether you lived in the Bairro Indígena or not. Not if you wanted to keep your job. One of the conceits of the project was that by living in these cramped quarters residents would begin to learn the graces of civilized living, by compulsion if necessary. The Bairro Indígena was laid out in a radial plan to improve the sightlines for surveillance. A turreted police post was placed at its center. If that didn’t make things sufficiently uncomfortable, the annual flooding and the lack of running water certainly did.
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Roadway Division
Residential Block Out
The Joaquin Chissano Avenue, a major roadway in Maputo, cuts through the neighborhood of Munhuana, clearly dividing the area into sections. The roadway not only acts a trasport of people, but a transport of disease.
Differentiation can bring together various types of program and activity. Munhuana has clear change in program when the residential blocks are color-blocked out. The neighboring industrial complex and open fields behin to come to the forefront.
The Site/Program
Neighborhood Disjunction
Industrial Scatter
This junction of several neighborhoods displays incoherence and isolation due to an adjacent commercial center and the abrupt roadway. Because of this harsh division, there is a drastic change in neighborhood type and density.
The large industrial and commercial center is in stark contrast to the informal housing that surrounds its perimeter. This area attracks vehicular and foot traffic through Munhuana and Mafalala.
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The Site/Program
The Program
The program calls for a center that reduces the stigma of living with HIV as a woman. It is imperative for the women of Maputo to be properly tested, treated, and educated on their risks and conditions. For this, a dual program is required consisting of a health center and educational center for women. The program is to morph through time, dealing with more education as time goes on to keep prevention and self-awareness on the forefront at all times. This is the only way to keep infection rates down and destigmatize a disease that is rarely publicized.
The health center calls for proper treatment areas and testing areas. These two sub-programs require different typologies of space. Testing areas are to be quick turnout with proper protocol. Treatment areas could be quick revisits, or short in-patient care. The educational spaces require gathering spaces and proper lecture rooms. The programs are to be dynamic in nature, with the educational aspect being able to expand into the health care as infection rates and less treatment is needed in the long term, or in areas of different need.
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The Site/Program
Programmatic Requirements
Health Care
Reception and lounge Pharmacy with pick-up Group meeting space Induvidual counseling Exam rooms Female Male Family Storage and service
1600 sq ft 800 sq ft 1600 sq ft 800 sq ft
Community
Indoor community space Outdoor community space
3500 sq ft 5500 sq ft
Residential
Extended stay for women
Education
Day care center Classroom adult teen children Administration office
200 sq ft ( x 3 ) 200 sq ft ( x 3 ) 200 sq ft ( x 3 )
2500 sq ft
1200 sq ft 1000 sq ft 1000 sq ft 1000 sq ft 1000 sq ft 1200 sq ft
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Health Care
Community Space
Housing
Education
The Site/Program
Fifty Year Projection
As women gain health care, education, employment opportunities and overall self-empowerment from these community centers, the programming of the space will accommodate their ever-changing needs. This adaptable architecture will evolve with the community. For example, as HIV infection rates decrease in Munhuana, space that was once dedicated to health care can change to classrooms. As women and girls progress through their educational journey, classrooms can become community
offices to allow for income-producing opportunities. The short-term housing can also expand to accommodate the oncoming population expansion. In fifty years, as HIV is nearly non-existent, the centers will be completely transformed.
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phase 01
phase 02
phase 03
phase 04
The Site/Program
Implementation Throughout Maputo Within a decade, a series of twenty centers will be implemented throughout the city of Maputo and greater Maputo. Each center will adapt to its particular environment and demographic, addressing the diverse geographic and population conditions throughout Maputo. The initial center, placed in the barrios of Munhuana, will act as a model and research tool for further development, construction and implementation. By dividing the process into five construction phases,
the communities with the most urgent need will be addressed immediately, and supportive buildings will follow. Ultimately, the centers will be reactive to the specific needs of each neighborhood. Combined with the evolving and interchangable programs, the phased project will allow for a progress.
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The Site/Program
Case Studies
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permanent health clinics Africa Centre for Health Studies, South Africa First of May Health Center, Maputo Masaika Clinic, Tanzania
mobile health clinics Outreach Clinic, sub-Sahara Africa Madwaleni High School Clinic, South Africa Mobile Health Clinic, sub-Sahara
hospitals with HIV services Hopital Central de Maputo Hospital Privado de Maputo Centro de Saude da Polana Canco
women’s centers Women’s Opportunity Center, Rowanda Rufisque Women’s Center, Senegal CBF Women’s Health Centre, West Africa
The Site/Program
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The Site/Program
Mobile Health Clinic Paris, France (prototype) Tolila + Gilliland Atelier d’Architecture Three-quarters of the world’s AIDS population lives in sub-Saharan Africa; most have no access to lifesaving drugs, testing facilities, or even basic preventive health care. Architecture for Humanity challenged the world’s architects and health-care professionals to submit design ideas for a mobile HIV/AIDS treatment center that could be used not only for testing, prevention and treatment but also for disseminating information regarding the virus and providing basic health-care services. The Paris-based team of Nicholas Gilliand and Gaston Tolila received the top award.
The design consists of two parts: a permanent component, made up of one or two “granaries” built by the community several weeks before the arrival of the clinic, and a mobile component, which arrives by truck with a medical team. During the day the permanent clinic buildings double as a marketplace. With the construction of each new clinic, a natural trade route expands for artisans to sell their wares. In the evenings the clinic turns into a community gathering space, where events can be held or films projected against the wall. By combing a number of services the facility is seen not as an “AIDS clinic” but as a traveling community center.
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The Site/Program
Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies Somkhele, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa East Coast Architects, 2003 (renovation 2015) The rural village of Somkhele is home to high unemployment and situated at the epicenter of South Africa’s HIV/AIDS epidemic. In 1996, the UK-based Wellcome Trust decided to build a modern research facility focusing on reproductive and population issues. The intention was to bring together African and international scientists in a rural setting to better understand how the virus was affecting populations and identity ways to overcome the location’s health challenges. As the people of Somkhele and the surrounding villages would form the research pool, the Africa Centre sought develop long lasting ties with the community, and the design process
became an opportunity to establish and foster good relations. The Durban-based firm East Coast Architects took on the challenge of creating a community-engaged design by encouraging numerous opportunities for local involvement and input. In addition to considering cultural issues, the architects were equally sensitive to environmental concerns. The entire building is filled with color, bring a sense of life and vitality. The center is a continued success and called for a renovation, again by East Coast Architects.
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The Site/Program
Rufisque Women’s Centre Rufisque, Senegal Hollmen Reuter Sandman Architecture, 2002 A population explosion in Senegal resulted in a rise in both urban sprawl and locally active women’s groups. Senegal’s high unemployment rate meant that women, who traded fish, vegetables, incense, fabrics, and other basic goods in the country’s crowded markets, were often the sole breadwinners in their families. These women’s groups, which emerged spontaneously by the hundreds within traditional social structures in all parts of the country, enabled women to form micro-lending societies. Segregated within their culture from the male
sphere of commerce, the women created an emotional and fiscal support network. But while some of the women’s groups were sanctioned the by government, they lacked adequate facilities, funding and centralized coordination. The center is composed of three buildings situated around a central courtyard in an underdeveloped district. With its space ordered around the courtyard, the center echoes the traditional Senegalese gathering space and serves as a metaphor for democracy.
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The Submission
THE SUBMISSION
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TEXT PLAN 1:500
COVER IMAGE
GROUND FLR PLAN 1:200
The Submission
Submission requirements
The submitted entries should be arranged on (8) panels sized 36 inches x 24 inches. The orientation of the panels should be landscape. At the upper right corner of every panel should be the participants’ assigned sixdigit identification number.
Designer’s Statement
The explanatory text on Panel 1 should also be submitted in PDF format, size A4. The text should not exceed 1000 characters and should not use formatting (bold, italic, color, etc.) After the evaluation this text will Panel 1 be published on the competition website and will be the most comprehensible description of the project for A) Materials which clarify the main concept of the the general public. project: 3D visualization, schemes and other illustrative materials (choice of each participant), explanatory text Thumbnail up to 1000 characters. JPEG format 300 x 300 pixels, file will be used in B) Site plan in scale 1:500 the competition website. The image will distinguish the project in the list of all submitted entries. The Panel 2 representative image may comprise 3D visualization, detail or scheme from the project which are clear A) Ground floor plan, scale 1:200 enough even in small size. Panels 3 – 8 Cover Image In the (6) panels (from 3 to 8) participants arrange the JPEG format 1280 x 768 pixels. The file will be used in following materials: the competition website at each project’s page after the A) floor plans of all levels above ground, scale 1:200 evaluation is completed. The image should show the minimum 2 specific sections, scale 1:200 most distinguished features of the project for people, who wouldn’t look at the panels or can’t read drawings. B) all specific elevations, scale 1:200 The cover image may comprise 3D visualization or C) additional 3D visualizations, schism and other scheme from the project. illustrative materials There are no requirements for the arrangement and sequence of the materials. The participants should only adhere to the dimensions and orientation of the panels.
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Michael Wen Sen Su Principal NOF Machinic Architecture Cofounder SITREP.at Adjunct Professor Pratt Institute
Philippe Baumann, RA Principal Baumann Architecture Cofounder SITREP.at Adjunct Professor Pratt Institute
Dena Al-Adeeb Ph.D. candidate Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Department, Culture and Representation
Jeffrey Hogrefe Author and Architecture Critic Coordinator Pratt School of Architecture Writing Program
Anne Nixon Architect, Brooklyn Office Architecture+Design Assistant Professor, Pratt Institute
M. Louis Goodman, RA President, M. Louis Goodman Arch. Adjunct Professor Pratt Institute
The Submission
Evaluation and Jury
The Jury will evaluate entries according to the following criteria:
Design and Visitors
The entry encourges the goal of destigmatization and inclusion, but keeps to the theme of refuge. The program also works with the dynamic theme - able to The entry has adhered to the requirements for change over time. automobile, pedestrian and bicycle accessibility The entry proposes a new, integrated urban public space, Resilience and Practilabilty provided with functions different from traditional library operations. The structure is fit to withstand the climate of the site. The entry utilizes environmentally sound and conscious Structure and functionality material. Urban Planning and environment
The entry contains all required programs described and area is similar to that of the suggested square footage.
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Bibliography
Annotated Bibliography
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Source
“ActionAid USA.” ActionAid. Creative Commons, 01 August 2014. Web. 13 December 2015.
Date
November 23, 2015
Author
Julia Nasti
Abstract
ActionAid is an internationally operating NGO that advocates for diverse of need such as women’s rights, education, poverty, disaster relief, healthcare, and more. The have several offices, including one in Washington D.C. and Maputo.
Annotation
NGOs are imperative throughout the world. There are many organizations out there helping and advocating for many urgent and desperate causes. The people behind these activisms are devoted and dedicated to helping the need at hand. ActionAid is one such NGO. Working in more than fourth countries across Africa, Asia, America, and Latin America, ActionAid stands up for those who have no voice. Their areas of work have widened and began working on the HIV and AIDS epidemic as of 1987. Education is the keystone of prevention, and that is something they believe as well. Using education and empowerment, ActionAid has reached success in many of their conquests, and continue fighting for those that need more attention. With headquarters in Washington D.C, USA and Maputo, Mozambique, ActionAid is truly international. In their words, they “focus on the people others forget, which can be the root of a life ridden with stigma.”
Key terms
non-governmental organization, ActionAid, women’s rights, sexual education, activism
Bibliography
Source
Allen, Stan. “Mapping the Unmappable: On Notation.” Practice: Architecture, Technique and Representation. Amsterdam: The Gordon and Breach Publishing Company, 2000. 30-45.
Date
September 18, 2015
Author
Emma Colley
Abstract
Stan Allen claims that in order to sustain its own relevance, architecture needs to address the social and political implications of the shift from analogue to abstract.
Annotation
Stan Allen argues that there is a greater depth to architectural notation than what is initially perceived through society’s traditional forms of representation. By his standards, architecture lays somewhere in between an allographic and autographic form of art. Architecture is a system that is highly abstract and self-referential, but also has a goal of transforming existing reality. One example of inadequate representation is that of the “edge city.” To Allen, this is an “unmappable” territory which can be mapped. Here lays a scenario in which the conventions of representation itself need to be rethought. In order to sustain its own relevance, architecture needs to address the social and political implications of the shift from analogue to abstract; from artifact to effect. The example of mapping an “edge city” is compelling when analyzed with respect to Maputo. Within greater Maputo, there is a distinct urban center surrounding the waterfront. However, moments of extreme civic and commercial density in the North are clearly observed but rarely are mapped, noted or documented. How do these massive swaths of land—filled with factories, shopping centers and government buildings—affect the urban and rural fabric of Maputo? How do they connect or isolate the two? At face value, these pseudo edge cities seems to divide geographic scenarios and communities.
Key terms
representation, unmappable, edge city, allographic, notation
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Source
Appadurai, Arjun. “The Production of Locality.” Modernity at Large, Cultural Dimensions of Globalizations. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis: Public Worlds, Vol. 1, 2000. 178-204.
Date
September 18, 2015
Author
Emma Colley
Abstract
Due to the recent and rapid increase of technology and mass media, the idea of the “nation state” is becoming increasing meaningless. Appadurai asserts that virtual connectivity is crucial in understanding the modern community or neighborhood.
Annotation
In this piece, Appadurai explores the idea of locality, specifically in the context of a destabilized nation-state. To explore this situation, he asserts that locality is relational and contextual rather than scalar or spatial. It is constituted by a series of linked between the sense of social immediacy, the technologies of interactivity and the relativity of contexts. Essentially, the national state is becoming increasing meaningless due to virtual connectivity. Because mass media has the ability to control and change opinion, it also holds the potential of creating new “neighborhoods” or locality. Thus ensues a disjuncture between the new virtual neighborhoods and the traditional spatial neighborhoods. A prominent issue in Mozambique is that of women’s rights and women’s health, particularly the marginalization of impoverish HIV positive females. If one is to consider this group—twenty percent of all women in Mozambique—a community, it is important to question their forms of locality. Perhaps this demographic is so stigmatized and isolated to the point that they are not considered a part of any neighborhood, weather traditional or not. How can their contextual locality be improved to allow them greater access and interaction with other neighborhoods? Locality is harmful and reductive if it does not have the ability to connect and harmonize diverse groups of people.
Key terms
Decentralization, chronotypic, transnational, locality, globalization
Bibliography
Source
Appadurai, Arjun. “The Production of Locality.” Modernity at Large, Cultural Dimensions of Globalizations. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis: Public Worlds, Vol. 1, 2000. 178-204.
Date
November 07, 2015
Author
Julia Nasti
Abstract
The concept of production occurs on a multi-scalar level. Context itself is both a production and produced. Everything is an influence in every aspect.
Annotation
Some argue that aspects of the world we live in are produced. Produced by us, produced by the environment, produced by context. This is just the concept Arjun Appadurai discusses in his book Modernity at Large : Cultural Dimensions of Globalization. This concept can be applied at a multiscaled level. From countries to neighborhoods, one could use Appadurai’s argument that context produces these places, and these places produce a context. Small differences in context can produce something entirely different. Looking globally, one could notice many senses of transformation; from stark to blurred, these transitions of neighborhoods are produced, and produce a sense of locality. The people within these “neighborhoods” react to their surroundings, therefore producing a context. This is a within and a without.
Key terms
Context, Locality, Production, Globalization, Modernity
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Source
Candiracci, Sara. “Mafalala is the Captial of Maputo.” Urb.im. August 20, 2012. Accessed November 7, 2015. http://urb.im/blog/urbimedge/130625
Date
December 13, 2015
Author
Emma Colley
Abstract
Mafalala is an informal settlement, located slightly north of the center city of Maputo. The neighborhood faces inadequate infrastructure, housing and social services, as well as a high rate of HIV/ AIDS.
Annotation
Roughly 21,000 residents of Maputo live in the barrios, or informal settlement of Mafalala. The neighborhood is located adjacent to Munhuana, and both lie just north of the center city of Maputo. Historically, Mafalala is located along the line that the Portuguese drew to mark the division between the “white” part of the city and its outskirts where the local black communities were ostracized. During Maputo’s struggle for independence, Mafalala became a hotspot for issues such as racism, colonialism and black identity. The landscape of Mafalala is marked by colorful historic corrugated iron and wood houses, dating back to when only white people were allowed to build concrete homes. Today, the residents live in severely disadvantaged conditions with inadequate basic services and infrastructure, insufficient houses and social service, acute security and health problems, and high levels of unemployment. The local organization IVERCA organizes historical and cultural tours in the area, through which tourists can learn about its history, visit the heritage landmarks, and experience local culture. Mafalala and Munhuana are adjacent communities and very closely related in regards to their socioeconomic status, infrastructure and health conditions. Candiracci introduces positive aspects of this community and highlights the strong culture that exists within the barrios. Ultimately, these social aspects will guide the programming of a new community health center and provide an automatic use and desire for a new “hub” within Mafalala and Munhuana.
Key terms
informal settlement, colonialism, adjacencies, poverty, black identity
Bibliography
Source
Corner, James. The Agency of Mapping: Speculations, Critique and Invention. London: Reaktion Books, 1999. 231-252.
Date
September 18, 2015
Author
Emma Colley
Abstract
James Corner believes that mapping has the ability to transcend a basic representation. Current forms of these tools are inadequate as synthesizers of space, time and culture.
Annotation
Similarly to Stan Allen, Corner argues that mapping has the ability to transcend a basic representation, and that current forms of these tools are inadequate as synthesizers of space, time and culture. The map functions as both an analogue utility and an abstract interpretation; they are active participants of cultural intervention. In Corner’s opinion, the “bureaucratic regime” of city and landscape planning, with its traditional focus on objects and functions, has failed to embrace the full complexity and fluidity of urbanism, and of culture generally. In politically and culturally charged cities such as Maputo, designers must avoid redundant approaches towards mapping and planning. Ultimately, mapping and notation have the ability to reconsider and reinvent current conditions. In cities experiencing rapid urbanization, it’s likely impossible to accurately document urban conditions without fear of inaccuracies or outdatedness. In a sense, there needs to be a hands-on or real-time assessment of the environment in a bottom-up approach. If maps act as guides, rules, or regulations, that it only seems logical that they would be constantly reassessed and ever-evolving. Ideally, a modern map is not a moment frozen in time but a working document for problem solving.
Key terms
Globalization, subjectivity, agency, transnational, colonization
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Source
Corner, James. The Agency of Mapping: Speculations, Critique and Invention. London: Reaktion Books, 1999. 231-252.
Date
November 07, 2015
Author
Julia Nasti
Abstract
This piece takes on the challenge of asking the question “what is a map?� Looking at a map in a new dimensional stand point, James Corner argue that maps are just one step in a larger process, and not an end result.
Annotation
Mapping is not meant to be something taking literally, nor is it something meant to be used as an end product. A map is just one instrument in a bigger process. This is what James Corner argues in detail in his work, Agency of Mapping : Speculation, Critique and Invention. Maps affect how we perceive cities, and we use that transformation to affect maps. Reality can’t be mapped. Corner makes the statement that mapping is an unveiling of new worlds within past and present. It is doubly operative. What does this mean for the modern city? It is definitely something that affects how we perceive the urban setting, or even rural for that matter. These places are changed by us and by our methods of mapping, and yet we depend on these instruments to be an unbiased self-expression of the place. Once we are able to remove ourselves from the belief that these tools are just instruments, we can really unveil aspects of these modern/ modernizing places.
Key terms
Mapping, Modernization, Representation, Legibility, Operative
Bibliography
Source
Ellison, Mark. “Mozambique Sex Workers Learn to Put Life Before Money as HIV Rates Increase”. http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/dec/12/mozambique-sex-workers-hiv-aids-life-
Date
November 07, 2015
Author
Julia Nasti
Abstract
Statistics and numbers prove the seriousness of women’s positions in society and that relationship to deadly infections, specifically HIV. There is a clear link between education—or lack thereof—and infection rates. This article focuses on Mozambique.
Annotation
Human nature tends to cause people to do what they have to for survival. In Maputo City, Mozambique, many women resort to selling themselves for just enough to get them – and the ones they are providing for – by. While some women understand the risks and take the necessary precautions to prevent being infected by any diseases, especially HIV which is very prevalent in Maputo, others are not as safe. This is a big issue in a city like Maputo with the 11th highest rate of HIV in the world. A poll done in 2012 showed that approximately a third of female sex workers in Maputo were HIV positive, and 48% of those interviewed said they didn’t have comprehensive knowledge about the disease and its’ transmission. These are dangerous numbers that without proper education, the situation may never be rectified.
Key terms
Dystopia, Mozambique, Sex, HIV, Transmission
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Source
Goldstein, Nancy, and Manlowe, Jennifer. The Gender Politics of HIV/AIDS in Women. New York: New York University Press, 1997. Print.
Date
November 16, 2015
Author
Emma Colley
Abstract
Women now account for the majority of all new HIV/AIDS cases diagnosed in the United States. This book fills crucial gaps in understanding the special effects of HIV and AIDs on women’s lives by emphasizing marginalized populations.
Annotation
This book was the first of its kind to emphasize how marginalized populations, such as the homeless, sexworkers, youth and LBGTQ communities, are affected by HIV/AIDS. The authors discuss that current models for understanding, categorizing and addressing HIV rely too heavily on individualistic models that presuppose agency and free will for subjects while failing to consider the subjects’ social context. The book summarizes two points. First, HIV and AIDS are best understood as socially, culturally, and ideologically--as well as biologically--determined phenomena. Second, gender, especially as it intersects with race, class and sexuality, plays a significant role in the way in which women have been infected and affected, and alternately singled out and ignored, in relation to HIV/AIDS in the United States. While Goldstein and Manlowe’s piece discusses HIV/AIDS in the United States rather than in Mozambique, the impact of HIV on marginalized communities in the U.S. around 1997 is very similar to that of Maputo nearly twenty years later. While marginalized communities pose very different problem and solution sets, there is a commonality in that they face major discrimination and isolation. Suggestions regarding communal inclusion are important for women in girls in Maputo suffering from stigmatization.
Key terms
underrepresentation, marginalization, gender, discrimination, sexual health
Bibliography
Source
Jacobs, Jane. “The Death and Life of Great American Cities”. Ed. Charles Jencks and Karl Kropf. Theories and Manifestos of Comtemporary Architecture. Academy Editions, Great Britain, 1997.
Date
November 07, 2015
Author
Julia Nasti
Abstract
Jane Jacobs, a big activist of city life, takes major standpoints of what is necessary to keep a functioning city. Urban settings are a very specific class of their own, and she states many of her points in her book.
Annotation
Manifestos make bold statements that encompass a particular concept. These statements can be agreed with or disagreed with, but nonetheless, they demand attention. The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs sets up ground work for the workings of the urban city setting. Jacobs discusses what could be looked at as a “checklist” of sorts of what is necessary within an urban setting to make a functional city. There are aspects of the city that must be upheld and maintained to make a city work. Aspects like the separation of public and private space. But how do today’s cities fall in this “checklist”? This is something to recognize. Most of the time, the most functional cities are the ones who adapt to the concepts Jane Jacobs claims.
Key terms
Manifesto, Urbanity, Public, Functional, Contemporary
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Source
Joints United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), The Gap Report 2014. Geneva: United Nations, September 2014. Web.
Date
November 14, 2015
Author
Emma Colley
Abstract
This report sets out to answer the question: how do we close the gap between the people moving forward and the people being left behind in relation to HIV/AIDS. The goal of the Gap report is to provide the best possible data, but, in addition, to give information and analysis on the people being left behind.
Annotation
The United Nations believes that we can end the AIDS epidemic. Within the past thirty years, activism and research led to one of the most effective global movements of this generation. Global commitment and clear goals paved the way for countries at the start of the AIDS response. Then resources, innovation and communities accelerated its progress. Even though we have seen new HIV infections drop by 38% since 2001, there were 2.1 million people newly infected in 2013. There are also 22 million people who are not accessing life-saving treatment. In order to address these staggering numbers, we must “fill in the gaps” of those who are not received proper awareness and education. Many of these “gap” communities include young women and girls. Sub-Saharan Africa is responsible for 75% of new HIV infections. This includes Maputo, where women are girls are suffering the most. While their city is current experiencing rapid urbanization, these communities are excluding from this acceleration because of the inaccessibility to education and health care. HIV prevention programs must be targeted towards young people, especially female, and support their access to basic human rights.
Key terms
discrimination, stigma, prevention, marginalized populations, community
Bibliography
Source
Koolhaus, Rem, et al. “Lagos.” Mutations. Barcelona: Actar, 2000. 652-719. Print.
Date
September 18, 2015
Author
Emma Colley
Abstract
Rem Koolhaus discusses his research on the urbanization of Nigeria’s largest city, Lago. He notes external influences on the city, how his visits have affected his view of architecture as a profession, and Lagos’ future potential.
Annotation
In Lagos, team members from the Harvard Project on the City argue that we must do away with our inherited Western notion of the “city” in order to recognize the value of cities within the developing world. The team sites Lagos, Nigeria as an idea case study of rapid urbanization because of its extremes: scarcity, wealth, land pressure, religious fervor, and population explosion. Essentially, the conditions in Lagos could quite possibly be a prediction of what it to come in other cities with more apparently structure and lifestyle. In an exploded city such as Lagos or Maputo, there is constant reassessment and renegotiation of property ownership and boundaries based on intersections, taxes, claims and interests. Similarly to James Corner’s position on mapping and notation, a newly invented “line” has the ability to reassess and ultimately change current conditions. In the Western world, it is believed that this line must be drawn and implemented by one person—or one group of people—in order for the system to succeed. However, Lagos proves that a more impromptu line works just as well. An informal community based negotiation is necessary in order to maintain the integrity of the urban fabric.
Key terms
rapid urbanization, population explosion, boundaries, intersections, negotiations
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Source
Medecins Sans Fronteirs. MSF UK Website. http://www.msf.org.uk/country-region/mozambique
Date
December 9, 2015
Author
Julia Nasti
Abstract
HIV related conditions can severely worsen cases, and many secondary conditions get left untreated. The HIV infection isn’t the only infection those with the disease have to be concerned with contracting due to the contraction.
Annotation
HIV is an extremely serious disease. Especially when left untreated, misdiagnosed, or improperly taken care of. While the infection itself is something that, once contracted, has to be dealt with on a critical level, it isn’t the only infection to be worried about when concerning this disease. Many secondary conditions can be developed due to the presence of the HIV virus. In Mozambique, a place where some of the testing technologies aren’t as advanced, and the treatment isn’t as substantial as other parts of the world, this concern of secondary infection, or complex cases, is of major consequence. Many complex cases arise, and MSF UK, an NGO, has tracked a lot of these circumstances internationally. Focusing in on Mozambique, they found many cases of secondary infection becoming extremely serious. For instance, Angelina* (who’s name was changed for privacy sake) had developed Kaposi’s Sarcoma - a skin cancer related to HIV infection. It is important to not only focus in on the affect that one infection has, but how it can create an even greater impact on one’s health than just that, especially when not treated properly.
Key terms
HIV, Testing, Health, Infections, Complex Cases
Bibliography
Source
Morton, Dave. “A Meeting at the Movies.” Hotel Universo. September 20, 2010. Accessed November 7, 2015. https://hoteluniverso.wordpress.com/2010/09/20/a-meeting-at-the-movies/.
Date
November 07, 2015
Author
Emma Colley
Abstract
Dave Morton, a PhD candidate in African history, researches and writes about the history of the construction of Maputo’s shantytowns, the places where for most of the last century and a half most of the city’s African residents have lived. One of his projects includes documenting an oral history of the neighborhood known of Munhuana.
Annotation
The neighborhood of Munhuana was first known as the Bairro Indígena, or the “native neighborhood.” It was built by colonial authorities in the 1940s as a public housing project for Africans who worked as laborers for the railroad or for the city. The tiny, semi-detached units were built of concrete blocks at a time when building in permanent materials was the exclusive right of citizens, and only a fraction of one percent of Mozambicans were considered Portuguese citizens. The Bairro Indígena was an island of solidity among thatched-roof huts. For much of the colonial era, you didn’t have a choice in whether you lived in the Bairro Indígena or not. One of the conceits of the project was that by living in these cramped quarters, residents would begin to learn “civilized living”. The Bairro Indígena was laid out in a radial plan to improve surveillance. A turreted police post was placed at its center. There is also annual flooding and the lack of running water. Munhuana’s unique radial plan amongst high density informal housing is initially striking. The historic explanation of surveillance and forced authority seems like the ideal situation to reverse. This neighborhood, which once had such negative connotations, have the potential for regrowth and transformation into a destigmatized communal space. Additionally, it’s location near a major roadway is a compelling when considering HIV spread along highways and roadside stops. The larger urban condition surrounding Munhuana is representative of a large majority of Maputo, which is crucial for the implementation of our project.
Key terms
neighborhood, colonialization, Munhuana, Bairro, surveillance
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Source
Paulo, Margarida. “Sexuality and HIV/AIDS Amoung Young Residents of Mafalala Barrio.” Youth, HIV/ AIDS and Social Transformations in Africa. Oxford: African Books Collective Limited, 2009. Print.
Date
December 13, 2015
Author
Emma Colley
Abstract
This paper aims to understand the issue of sexuality among the residents of Mafalala Barrio, Maputo, in Mozambique, and contribute to HIV/AIDS educational research programs in this locality and elsewhere.
Annotation
In 2003 and 2004, Margarida Paulo conducted fieldwork throughout the barrios of Mafalala to speak with young people (ages 20-24) and address two questions: “what is sexuality?” and “how do young people view HIV/AIDS prevention campaigns?” In general, the young adults that Paulo interviewed had similar views on heterosexual relationships, abortions, and a great lack of accurate information regarding HIV and other STDs. Many interviewees agreed that there is “too much information” about HIV and not enough action to help infected people. It seems that educational programs are ineffective due to uncertainty in the family. Many families still use ritual initiation or advice from the elderly to educate their children about sex and moral issues. Because Mafalala is adjacent to Munhuana, the communities share similar social views and practices. It is important to understand the situations and opinions of children and young adults because they will be the first generation to utilize and understand a new form of HIV prevention. The family, in whichever way it is informally defined, becomes a critical elements in programming the space of a community and educational center. It is important to incorporate elements of tradition and ceremony into modern interventions.
Key terms
sexuality, prevention, young adults, sex education, barrios
Bibliography
Source
Moseley, William G. Taking Sides: Clashing Views on African Issues. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. Print.
Date
November 16, 2015
Author
Emma Colley
Abstract
This debate-style reader introduces readers to controversies in Africa studies. Two related topics covered are ‘are women in a position to challenge male power structure in Africa?’ and ‘is the international community focusing on HIV/AIDS treatment at the expense of prevention in Africa?’
Annotation
For the first topic, Richard Schroeder presents a case study of a group of female gardeners in The Gambia who, because of their growing economic clout, began to challenge male power structures. Women came to have greater income-earning capacity than men as the urban market for garden produce grew. On the other hand, Human Rights Watch describes how women in Kenya have property rights unequal to those of men, and how even these limited rights are frequently violated. It is further explained how women have little awareness of their rights and how the Kenyan government has done little to address the situation. For the second topic, Andrew Creese suggests that cost-effectiveness is an important criterion for deciding how to allocate scarce health care funding. A case of HIV/AIDS can be prevented for $11 by selective blood safety measures and targeted condom distribution. In contrast, antiretroviral treatment for adults can cost several thousand dollars. He argues that a strong economic case exists for prioritizing preventive interventions and TB treatment. On the other hand, Philip Hilts describes a comprehensive HIV/AIDS program in Botswana. This program not only offered preventive care, but sophisticated triple drug AIDS treatment to all people of the nation, free of charge. By 2005, the program was treating 43,000 people and the cost of treatment is on-tenth of what it is in the United States.
Key terms
controversies, power structure, social mobility, gender roles, prevention
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Source
Nothover, Baroness Lindsay. “Seeing A Way Through for Girls and Women in Mozambique”. https://dfid.blog.gov.uk/2015/02/19/seeing-a-way-through-for-girls-and-women-in-mozambique/
Date
November 07, 2015
Author
Julia Nasti
Abstract
Woman’s rights is always a hard subject to discuss subjectively. Baroness Lindsay Nothover uses her experience visiting Mozambique in addition to statistics to discuss the issue of women’s rights.
Annotation
While globally it may appear that women’s rights are on the up and we have gained vastly much higher degrees of civil liberties, there is a veil covering up some horribly cruel happenings in the world. Women’s rights are still outrageously compromised. It is harder to see in places like America, but in countries like Mozambique, it is clear. Genital mutilation, forced child marriage, and lack of education are all still highly prevalent in Mozambique. In fact, one in three girls will be married before 18-years old in Mozambique, and 12% are even married before 15-years old. To make matters worse, only 33% of women and girls in Mozambique are literate, and in comparison to the 63% in men, this is a vast difference. These rights are natural and shouldn’t discriminate. This needs to change.
Key terms
Women, Mozambique, Rights, Activism, Feminization
Bibliography
Source
Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty. “Harlem.” Cities Without Citizens. Slought Books, Philadelphia: Rosenbach Museum & Library Theory Series, No. 1, 2003. 55-85.
Date
September 18, 2015
Author
Emma Colley
Abstract
Spivak argues that the neighborhood of Harlem is developing in an unsustainable fashion that propels unfair class mobility disguised as the politics of social equality. She questions what Harlem means to New York and how the community functions internally.
Annotation
In this piece, Spivak questions identities within a megacity. Essentially, what does it mean to be a New Yorker, and what does Harlem mean to New York? This questioning calls attention to groups of people that are socially, politically and geographically outside the dominant power structure. Since the 1990s, Harlem has been the focus of major economic “development,” and thus property ownership is changing. However, this supposed community and culture making, the “American dream” is false. According to Spivak, simply speaking of diversity will not solve the issue of upward class mobility masquerading as the politics of social equality. The United States thinks of itself as “global” or “local” interchangeably. At this point, nothing in the United States, including Harlem, is merely counter global. This point is compelling. Is Maputo to Mozambique as Harlem is to the United States? The rapid urbanization of Maputo is producing characteristics that can be equated to Harlem. However, they are not sustainable, just as Harlem’s development isn’t as successful and progressive as it seems at face value.
Key terms
memorialize, class mobility, social equality, culture, racial diversity
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Source
VSO International. “From A Desperate Situation to a Brighter Future - Rute’s Story”. https://medium.com/@VSO_Intl/from-a-desperate-situation-to-a-brighter-future-20583916949d#.
Date
November 29, 2015
Author
Julia Nasti
Abstract
Using a personal story of a woman who had false negative HIV results, and then eventually finding out she was positive, this article goes to show the unreliability of current testing in parts of the world, specifically Maputo, Mozambique. This personal story of plight turns into a story of resilience and perseverance in attempt to destigmatize an infection and provide for a family.
Annotation
Personal stories are important to bring an epidemic to a human and personal scale. Hearing someone’s personal story gives people something to empathize or sympathize with. This article tells the tale of Rute, a pregnant single mother already raising six kids on her own. Feeling ill, and knowing the HIV infection rates that are so prevalent and high in places like Maputo, Mozambique, where she lives and is from, Rute went to get tested. The results were negative. This became a cycle for Rute, and after being tested several times, she decided to go further and elsewhere to somewhere with more reliable machines. It turned out Rute’s gut instinct was correct and she was, in fact, HIV positive. This story Rute was telling was not to make people feel sorry for her, but to raise awareness that facilities are not up to par or entirely reliable where she is, and in many more places around the world. With that being said, Rute has begun trying to destigmatize her infection by selling food she makes and creating her own small business. She sells her food outside her house, and is making a living for herself and for her family. By integrating herself into her community, Rute is helping the destigmatization of her disease.
Key terms
HIV, Women, Health, Testing, Stigma
Bibliography
Source
Williams, Michael. “Healthcare Repeal Would Harm Women Around the World”. Feb. 9, 2011. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/feb/09/healthcare-hiv-infection
Date
November 29, 2015
Author
Julia Nasti
Abstract
National issues can resonate internationally. In this case, a United States decision to cut funding to USAID that provides family planning, contraception, and education to certain places with high infection rates and need in hopes to lessen the occurrence of abortion and disease resulted in the exact opposite outcome.
Annotation
The impact of national decisions, at times, resonates internationally. This just so happens to be the case when the United States ruled on cutting funding of contraception and family planning overseas when implementing the “gag” rule. The rule prohibited the US from giving assistance to women internationally who were in need of abortion information or family planning. Due to this seemingly minor change in one field, things began to change drastically. Women felt the impact worldwide. The inverse outcome ended up occurring - abortion rates increased and infection rates did as well. With the lack of contraception, aid, and education, HIV rates began to increase rapidly. Not only do the infection rates increase, but so does the stigma. Labeling the disease and women’s health problems as insignificant and not worthy of funding, these women are left as outcasts with nowhere to turn. For a policy that aimed to lessen HIV infection rates, it did the exact opposite. Ignoring and belittling the problem not only hurts the country where the policy was created, but this impact in particular hurt women worldwide.
Key terms
Women, Health, HIV, Family Planning, Funding
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Pratt Institute School of Architecture Degree Project 2015 - 2016 | Tyranny of Numbers
Bibliography
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