HIV/AIDS on the campus: universities and the threat of an epidemic

Abstract

As the AIDS epidemic moves from the early stages of HIV spread into a growing wave of premature deaths, its in-house impacts are felt in all formal organisations. The paper addresses the particular situation of institutions of higher learning, known to be among the last to develop management responses to the epidemic. While some smaller Ugandan universities have adopted AIDS policies, Makerere University, situated in a country hailed for its success in fighting HIV/AIDS, is yet to offer a clear response to its toll among staff and students. The fates of initiatives taken on campus since the early 1990s are discussed within a context of general demands made on a university deeply affected by the turmoil preceding the NRM government. Organisational problems in decision-making on sensitive issues are studied. The paper ends with a review of suitable theoretical approaches to explain behaviours of universities, among them Minzberg's (1993) characterisation of ‘professional bureaucracies'.

Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review Vol. 22(2) 2006: 31-50