Trading off Income and Health?: AIDS and the Disability Grant in South Africa

Nattrass, Nicoli

doi:10.1017/s0047279405009293

Cited by 51 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…1 There has been a huge increase in the take-up rate of the grant in recent years -from 600 000 in 2000 to almost 1.3 million in 2004 (Nattrass, 2006b). A major reason for this appears to be the AIDS epidemic, which is multiplying the numbers of very ill people who are unable to work.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender, rights and the disability grant in South Africa

Goldblatt

2009

Development Southern Africa

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South Africa's disability grant is critical for the survival of many disabled people and their families, and is especially important to disabled women, who face further disadvantage because of their family responsibilities, their generally deeper poverty and their greater vulnerability to HIV/AIDS and other illnesses. Valuable engagement between feminism and disability theory offers a useful framework for understanding the needs of disabled women in South Africa's social assistance system. This paper sets out the findings of a study of the disability grant system in two provinces in South Africa. It discusses the administrative problems with the system and the financial and other costs that burden the grant applicants and beneficiaries. It proposes that a comprehensive response to poverty, disability and gender inequality is needed, and makes specific recommendations for an improved system.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender, rights and the disability grant in South Africa

Goldblatt

2009

Development Southern Africa

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“…The number of individuals receiving disability grants has more than doubled since 2000, rising to 1.4 million recipients in 2008, with much of this growth attributable to the expanding number of AIDS-sick people [3][4][5][6][7]. Government grants in general, and the disability grant and old age pension in particular (two of the largest transfers), are highly redistributive [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Government grants in general, and the disability grant and old age pension in particular (two of the largest transfers), are highly redistributive [3]. Largely because of South Africa's high unemployment rate (over a third of South Africa's labor force is without work), poor households with access to such grants are significantly better off than comparable households without pensioners or disability grantees [5,[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to regulations, disability grants are awarded either on a 'temporary' basis (payments are provided up to 1 year, whereupon the individual has to reapply for further benefits) or on a 'permanent' basis (requiring renewal every 5 years) [2,5]. Although there is significant variation across the country in the processes followed, some proof is required, normally from a physician or medical official, that the applicant is indeed too sick to work.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Social Grants, Welfare, and the Incentive to Trade-Off Health for Income among Individuals on HAART in South Africa

et al. 2009

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South Africa's government disability grants are considered important in providing income support to low-income AIDS patients. Indeed, anecdotal evidence suggests that some individuals may opt to compromise their health by foregoing Highly Active Antiretroviral Treatment (HAART) to remain eligible for the grant. In this study, we examined the disability grant's importance to individual and household welfare, and the impact of its loss using a unique longitudinal dataset of HAART patients in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. We found that grant loss was associated with sizeable declines in income and changes in household composition. However, we found no evidence of individuals choosing poor health over grant loss. Our analysis also suggested that though the grants officially target those too sick to work, some people were able to keep grants longer than expected, and others received grants while employed. This has helped cushion people on HAART, but other welfare measures need consideration.

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“…The number of beneficiaries grew slowly then, between 2001 and 2004, it doubled, reaching about 5 percent of the total population of working-age adults (South Africa, 2012). When the public health care began to roll out treatment for AIDS, which resulted in many very sick people becoming apparently healthy, the administration of the disability grants became highly controversial (Nattrass, 2007). In at least one very poor neighbourhood, residents complained to the authorities that some grant beneficiaries were not so sick (Kelly, 2012).…”

Section: The Sick and Disabledmentioning

confidence: 99%