Axes of Inequality Speaker: Nicoli Nattrass

Although officially listed as a professor of economics, Nicoli Nattrass also holds master’s degrees in development studies and development economics. In the early part of her career, Nattrass’s research focused on topics related to South Africa’s social and economic development such as rural development in the former Bantustans, post-apartheid macroeconomic policy and the relationship between social equality and South Africa’s labor market. However from 2002 onwards, Nattrass’s work took a decisive turn towards applied research on the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In addition to co-authoring research that undermined the argument that South Africa could not afford life-saving antiretroviral treatment for its HIV positive citizens (2005), Nattrass has published two books on the AIDS epidemic in South Africa, The Moral Economy of AIDS in South Africa (2004), and Mortal Combat: AIDS Denialism and the Struggle for Antiretrovirals in South Africa (2007). In addition to these books and numerous articles on HIV/AIDS, Nattrass currently serves as the director of the AIDS and Society Research Unit at the University of Cape Town and is a member of AIDStruth.com, an organization that advocates for an end to AIDS denialism in South Africa.