South Africa: Community Health and Social Policy

Program Highlights

Durban as Program Base
Durban lies at the intersection of sub-tropical and temperate latitudes. This edge zone thus deals with a large variety of human diseases. Durban is also near the epicenter of the HIV pandemic in Southern Africa. Kwazulu Natal has a large rural community, most of whom are effectively illiterate and inumerate, and development is taking time to gather momentum. Many persons use traditional healers, while at the same time cutting edge hospitals and research centers operate in parallel.

Orientation in Johannesburg
The program begins with an orientation in Johannesburg, where activities include a guided tour of the Hector Pieterson Museum and Nelson Mandela House in Soweto. Students typically enjoy a lunch at Wandi’s Tavern, a historic site where activists formerly congregated.  During the orientation period, students also see a production at a theater specializing in protest and social theater.

Community Health Lecture series
Academics, health care workers and researchers are drawn together to teach about a wide range of diseases, prevention programs and health interventions.  

Independent Study Project
For four weeks, students research a topic that is uniquely South African and of particular interest to them. The ISP is conducted in Durban or in another approved location appropriate to the project. This period may include volunteering at a school, clinic, or NGO. For most students, the Independent Study Project (ISP) is the highlight of the semester.

Sample topic areas of inquiry include:

  • Prenatal health care
  • Sociological consequences of HIV/AIDS
  • Public health education campaigns
  • Sustainable development and health care
  • Local attitudes about access to health care facilities
  • Indigenous healing practices
  • Music and its effects on HIV-positive South Africans
  • Mental health issues and available health care
  • Reproductive health in rural South Africa