Drawing on ten years of ethnographic research, two hundred fifty interviews, and over three hundred youth love letters, author Shanti Parikh uses lively vignettes to provide a rare window into young people's heterosexual desires and practices in Uganda. In chapters entitled ""Unbreak my heart,"" ""I miss you like a desert missing rain,"" and ""You're just playing with my head,"" she invites readers into the world of secret longings, disappointments, and anxieties of young Ugandans as they grapple with everyday difficulties while creatively imagining romantic futures and possibilities. Parikh also examines the unintended consequences of Uganda's aggressive HIV campaigns that thrust sexuality and anxieties about it into the public sphere. In a context of economic precarity and generational tension that constantly complicates young people's notions of consumption-based romance, communities experience the dilemmas of protecting and policing young people from reputational and health dangers of sexual activity. ""They arrested me for loving a school girl"" is the title of a chapter on controlling delinquent daughters and punishing defiant boyfriends for attempting to undermine patriarchal authority by asserting their adolescent romantic agency. Sex education programs struggle between risk and pleasure amidst morally charged debates among international donors and community elders, transforming the youthful female body into a platform for public critique and concern. The many sides of this research constitute an eloquently executed critical anthropology of intervention.

Drawing on ten years of ethnographic research, two hundred fifty interviews, and over three hundred youth love letters, author Shanti Parikh uses lively vignettes to provide a rare window into young people's heterosexual desires and practices in Uganda. In chapters entitled ""Unbreak my heart,"" ""I miss you like a desert missing rain,"" and ""You're just playing with my head,"" she invites readers into the world of secret longings, disappointments, and anxieties of young Ugandans as they grapple with everyday difficulties while creatively imagining romantic futures and possibilities. Parikh also examines the unintended consequences of Uganda's aggressive HIV campaigns that thrust sexuality and anxieties about it into the public sphere. In a context of economic precarity and generational tension that constantly complicates young people's notions of consumption-based romance, communities experience the dilemmas of protecting and policing young people from reputational and health dangers of sexual activity. ""They arrested me for loving a school girl"" is the title of a chapter on controlling delinquent daughters and punishing defiant boyfriends for attempting to undermine patriarchal authority by asserting their adolescent romantic agency. Sex education programs struggle between risk and pleasure amidst morally charged debates among international donors and community elders, transforming the youthful female body into a platform for public critique and concern. The many sides of this research constitute an eloquently executed critical anthropology of intervention.

Examining three interconnected case studies, Tamar Carroll powerfully demonstrates the ability of grassroots community activism to bridge racial and cultural differences and effect social change. Drawing on a rich array of oral histories, archival records, newspapers, films, and photographs from post-World War II New York City, Carroll shows how poor people transformed the antipoverty organization Mobilization for Youth and shaped the subsequent War on Poverty. Highlighting the little-known National Congress of Neighborhood Women, she reveals the significant participation of working-class white ethnic women and women of color in New York City's feminist activism. Finally, Carroll traces the partnership between the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) and Women's Health Action Mobilization (WHAM!), showing how gay men and feminists collaborated to create a supportive community for those affected by the AIDS epidemic, to improve health care, and to oppose homophobia and misogyny during the culture wars of the 1980s and 1990s. Carroll contends that social policies that encourage the political mobilization of marginalized groups and foster coalitions across identity differences are the most effective means of solving social problems and realizing democracy.

Based on three village case studies from different parts of Kenya, this co-authored study explores the relationship between HIV/AIDS and land rights focusing on women as a socially vulnerable group. The study compares affected with non-affected households and HIV/AIDS emerges as a significant but not primary cause of tenure insecurity.

Speech and Song at the Margins of Global Health tells the story of a unique Zulu gospel choir comprised of people living with HIV in South Africa, and how they maintained healthy, productive lives amid globalized inequality, international aid, and the stigma that often comes with having HIV. By singing, joking, and narrating about HIV in Zulu, the performers in the choir were able to engage with international audiences, connect with global health professionals, and also maintain traditional familial respect through the prism of performance. The focus on gospel singing in the narrative provides a holistic viewpoint on life with HIV in the later years of the pandemic, and the author's musical engagement led to fieldwork in participants' homes and communities, including the larger stigmatized community of infected individuals. This viewpoint suggests overlooked ways that aid recipients contribute to global health in support, counseling, and activism, as the performers set up instruments, waited around in hotel lobbies, and struck up conversations with passersby and audience members. The story of the choir reveals the complexity and inequities of global health interventions, but also the positive impact of those interventions in the crafting of community.

Why do alternative, non-scientific explanations of HIV/AIDS continue to circulate in South Africa's townships after almost 30 years of AIDS education? In A different kind of AIDS, David Dickinson explores the folk and lay theories that still circulate within township communities, despite extensive educational efforts and the availability of antiretroviral treatment. Dickinson's investigations are in partnership with HIV/AIDS peer educators and alongside township residents; and he argues that these theories constitute a robust hydra of beliefs that underlies and supports the de facto plural health care system in South Africa. The book explores township life and language and includes a methodological manifesto aimed at social science research students. The end-result is essential reading for the academic and lay reader alike, and a deeply sympathetic portrait of South African realities today.

This cross-sectional study used a purposive sample of 379 high school students from fifteen urban and rural high schools in Guyana and assessed their HIV and AIDS knowledge and stigma-related attitudes, and the relationships among gender, age, religion, and race/ethnicity and HIV and AIDS knowledge. Most of the high school students displayed an overall moderate level of HIV and AIDS knowledge. The students understood the modes of HIV transmission; they recognized the symptoms of HIV and AIDS; nearly half of them believed that a blood donor was at risk of contracting HIV; and about one-fifth of the students embraced myths and misconceptions surrounding HIV and AIDS. There was no statistically significant difference in the knowledge scores of male and female students. Knowledge scores, nevertheless, differed significantly between the 13 to 15 and 16 to 18 age groups, and among the religious and ethnic groups. Stigma-related attitude scores did not differ significantly for gender and age, but differed significantly for religion and ethnicity among students. The study showed fissures in HIV/AIDS knowledge and substantial stigma-related attitudes. Limited understanding of the myths and misconceptions of HIV and AIDS demands a new focus on how HIV is not transmitted through moving beyond conventional strategies toward a social constructivist approach. This book is essential reading for medical professionals, policymakers and educators throughout the Caribbean region.

Broadcasting the pandemic tells the story of a South African television show, Beat It! Created during the aspirational years of the political transition in which the broadcast media were poised to democratize the airwaves, Beat It! was first screened on public television in 1999 and developed into one of the most powerful health education initiatives in contemporary history. Broadcasting the pandemic traces the show's evolution, exploring how Beat It! used the medium of television to inform its viewers about HIV at a time of increasingly rapid infection rates, but in which government education and treatment campaigns were largely absent. Broadcasting the pandemic pioneers a new methodology in scholarship about South Africa - using a television programme to explore the history of AIDS activism and policy. It provides a contemporary history of television in South Africa, and of its role in the most influential social movement to have emerged from the democratic transition: the HIV activist movement. Its content will interest readers from a wide array of disciplines, including African studies, journalism, public health, sociology, cultural studies and the history of medicine.

""AIDS, Culture, and Gay Men" addresses the urgent need for research on HIV and the behaviors of men who have sex with men. Based on studies in the U.S., Australia, Greece, and Belgium, the authors provide ethnographic, epidemiological, biological, and historical data and cover issues of risk, ethics, language, and the nature of evidence, all directed at developing effective forms of intervention."--Shirley Lindenbaum, City University of New York "This book makes a compelling case that culturally oriented anthropological research is essential in understanding and responding to the AIDS crises among MSM and in gay communities."--Serena Nanda, City University of New York There are approximately seven million adult gay and bisexual men in the United States and 120 million adult gay and bisexual men globally. This highly readable volume of original essays explores the cultural dimensions of AIDS among men who have sex with men (MSM). The traditional emphasis in HIV/AIDS research within gay communities has focused on sexual behavior and psychological issues. Yet to better understand the social and cultural dimensions of the disease, and to halt the spread of HIV, it is essential to recognize and understand the culture of MSM. Cultural anthropologists, unquestionably, are in a unique position to achieve this understanding. Douglas Feldman has gathered a diverse group of experts to contribute to this collection, and the volume features a wealth of scholarly data unavailable elsewhere. Douglas A. Feldman is professor of anthropology at the State University of New York, Brockport. Awarded the AAA's Kimball Award in Public Anthropology in 1996 for his work exploring the connection between AIDS and anthropology, Feldman is the editor of five books, including "The AIDS Crisis: A Documentary History" and "AIDS, Culture, and Africa."

In 2013, the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) will mark nearly ten years of success with an extraordinary year of achievements. None of this would have been possible without the vision and leadership of President Bush, President Obama, and the bipartisan support of Congress. A decade ago AIDS was wiping out an entire generation in Africa; today, PEPFAR's efforts and those of its many partners have brought the world to a new era -- a time when new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths are on the steep decline, and an AIDS-free generation is both U.S. policy and a goal within our reach. Building off recent breakthroughs, which demonstrated the power of key evidence-based interventions to drive down the rate of new infections and save more lives, this book reflects lessons learned from almost ten years of experience in supporting countries to rapidly scale-up HIV prevention, treatment, and care services. It demonstrates the opportunity for the world to help move more countries toward and beyond the tipping point in their epidemics and put them on a path to achieving an AIDS-free generation. The U.S. commitment to the global AIDS response will remain strong, comprehensive, and driven by science -- and clearly outlines what PEPFAR is doing and will continue to do to help make an AIDS-free generation a reality.

"The papers assembled in this offering are the outcome of a path-breaking symposium on HIV and Human Rights organised by the University of the West Indies Cave Hill, in partnership with Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV/AIDS (PANCAP) and The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). An impressive gathering of international agencies, the judiciary, human rights experts, lawyers, NGO's, academics, activists, business persons, union representatives, politicians and persons living with HIV together discussed their concerns about stigma, discrimination and the denial of rights. It was clear at the end of the Symposium that HIV attracts a wide variety of human rights abuses. However, identifying the best means to address these can be controversial, as illustrated in the book. Is it through Constitutions and their provisions guaranteeing human rights generally? Or should redress be sought through the courts, or ordinary legislation? The urgency of the matter perhaps makes the latter a more attractive approach. The book also illustrates clearly the social and legal issues faced by the protagonists in the HIV challenge and considers the viewpoints of the policy makers, who must not only encourage new, more `rights' sensitive laws, but also counter societal prejudices which would mitigate against such transformational initiatives. Moreover, the influences of the international community, also represented in the work, must be harnessed. This then, is a diverse text, which considers the troubling, topical and important issue of HIV from a variety of angles and provides a significant contribution to the literature on the subject."

Throughout history, communicable diseases have devastated armies and weakened the capacity of state institutions to perform core security functions. Today, the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa has prompted many of the affected countries to initiate policies aimed at addressing its impact on their armed forces, police, and prisons. This volume explores the dynamics of how the security sectors of selected African states have responded to the complex and multifaceted challenges of HIV/AIDS.

Current and impending African HIV/AIDS policies address a range of security-related issues:

- The role of peacekeepers in the spread or control of HIV

- The dilemma of public health (the need to control HIV) versus human rights (protection against mandatory medical testing) needs

- The gender dimensions of HIV in the armed forces

- The impact of HIV on the police and prisons

The chapters in "HIV/AIDS and the Security Sector in Africa" are written by African practitioners, including commissioned officers who are currently serving in the armed forces, medical officers and nurses working in the military, and African policy and academic experts. While the book does not comprehensively address all aspects of the impact of HIV/AIDS on the security sector, the contributors nonetheless highlight the potentials and limits of existing policies.

This Review was undertaken by the Networks of Ministry of Education HIV&AIDS Focal Point from countries in sub-Saharan Africa participating in the Accelerate Initiative, together with stakeholder and partner representatives. The education sector has become increasingly recognized as playing a key 'external' role in prevention and in reducing stigma, and an important 'internal' role in providing access to care, treatment and support for teachers and staff, a group that in many countries represents more than 60% of the public sector workforce. In 2002, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV&AIDS (UNAIDS) Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT) on Education established the 'Accelerate Initiative Working Group' to support countries in sub-Saharan Africa as they 'accelerate their education sector responses to HIV&AIDS' through the establishment of programs with strong local ownership, capable of accessing suitable funding and implementation at all levels of the education sector. The Networks of Ministry of Education HIV&AIDS Focal Points, established through the Initiative under the auspices of the Africa Union Regional Economic Communities, have rapidly taken ownership of the Accelerate Initiative. This Review explores the experiences of education sectors across sub-Saharan Africa as they accelerate their response to HIV&AIDS within the Accelerate Initiative. It demonstrates that leadership by Ministries of Education has been crucial in mobilizing activities, and that full participation of all stakeholders is needed for effective implementation. Since 2002: 37 countries have participated; 4 Networks have been established; 1,350 education staff members and 76 development partners have participated in 120 training days; 75% of participating countries are now accessing funds through their National AIDS Committees; 76% have an HIV&AIDS education sector strategy and plan; 91% train teachers to protect themselves; all countries are now implementing HIV prevention education; 74% are training teachers in the life skills approach; and 71% provide free education for orphans and vulnerable children.

This report explores the emerging epidemics of HIV among men who have sex with men (MSM) in low and middle income countries (LMIC). A case study approach is used to explore these epidemics in detail in Peru, Ukraine, Kenya, and Thailand. Systematic reviews of epidemiology and prevention science were used to understand these epidemics, and to assess the evidence for interventions in prevention, access to care and treatment, and human rights protections. The Goals model was then used to assess the potential impact at country level of responding to epidemics among MSM. Benefits were seen for overall HIV epidemic control in all four countries with greater investment in MSM prevention, treatment, and care. Costing and cost-effectiveness work found these interventions to be cost effective. Human rights and policy analyses were consistent with the epidemiology and costing responding to HIV among MSM is both a public health priority and a human rights imperative."

"For the LORD brought Judah low because of Ahaz, King of Israel, for he had encouraged moral decline in Judah and had been continually unfaithful to the LORD." 2 Chronicles 28:19 NKJV In this twenty-first century, the eruption of HIV/AIDS is a disturbing result of moral decline. This is a call to the people of all nations --and all in authority --to learn from history and uphold a moral culture. Wherever you live as an honorable father, mother, sister, and brother, please do not ignore this essential and timely call. This book offers you, your family, and your children a new dimension of exceptional living. Readers of all ages will find this book indispensable. It offers sensible and practical suggestions on how to manage the disease, relate with those already infected and, best of all, avoid becoming a victim of HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS is a global health problem. Only those who are equipped with knowledge and understanding will be able to escape. Whether you are so far free of HIV or have already been stricken, save yourself and your children, arm yourself with the facts, and do your part to stop this pandemic. Do not despair . . . In the words of Scripture, "Everything is possible." Yes, it is.

Changing the course of AIDS is an in-depth evaluation of a new and exciting way to create the kind of much-needed behavioral change that could affect the course of the global health crisis of HIV/AIDS. This case study from the South African HIV/AIDS epidemic demonstrates that regular workers serving as peer educators can be as - or even more - effective agents of behavioral change than experts who lecture about the facts and so-called appropriate health care behavior. After spending six years researching the response of large South African companies to the epidemic that is decimating their workforce as well as South African communities, David Dickinson describes the promise of this grassroots intervention - workers educating one another in the workplace and community - and the limitations of traditional top-down strategies. Dickinson's book takes us right into the South African workplace to show how effective and yet enormously complex peer education really is. We see what it means when workers directly tackle the kinds of sexual, gender, religious, ethnic, and broader social and political taboos that make behavior change so difficult, particularly when that behavior involves sex and sexuality. Dickinson's findings show that people who are not officially health care experts or even health care workers can be skilled and effective educators. In this book we see why peer education has so much to offer grappling with the HIV/AIDS epidemic and why those interested in changing behaviors to ameliorate other health problems such as obesity, alcoholism, and substance abuse have so much to learn from the South African example.

A "CHOICE"Outstanding Academic Title of 2010

For many women around the world, their greatest risk of HIV infection comes from having sex with the very person with whom they are supposed to have sex: their spouse. "The Secret" situates marital HIV risk within a broader exploration of marital and extramarital sexuality in five diverse settings: Mexico, Nigeria, Uganda, Vietnam, and Papua New Guinea. In these settings, the authors write, men's extramarital sex, is an officially secret but actually widespread (and widely acknowledged) social practice, rather than something men do because their bodies demand it and women can't stop them.

Drawing on research conducted as part of an innovative comparative ethnographic study, and modeling a novel approach to collaborative anthropological scholarship, the authors show men's extramarital sex to be a fundamental aspect of gendered social organization. Through theoretically sophisticated yet lucid writing and vivid ethnographic description, drawing on rich data from the marital case studies conducted by research teams in each country, they trace how extramarital opportunity structures, sexual geographies, and concerns about social risk facilitate men's participation in extramarital sex. Also documented throughout is the collision between traditional ways and the new practices of romantic companionate marriage."

A "CHOICE"Outstanding Academic Title of 2010

For many women around the world, their greatest risk of HIV infection comes from having sex with the very person with whom they are supposed to have sex: their spouse. "The Secret" situates marital HIV risk within a broader exploration of marital and extramarital sexuality in five diverse settings: Mexico, Nigeria, Uganda, Vietnam, and Papua New Guinea. In these settings, the authors write, men's extramarital sex, is an officially secret but actually widespread (and widely acknowledged) social practice, rather than something men do because their bodies demand it and women can't stop them.

Drawing on research conducted as part of an innovative comparative ethnographic study, and modeling a novel approach to collaborative anthropological scholarship, the authors show men's extramarital sex to be a fundamental aspect of gendered social organization. Through theoretically sophisticated yet lucid writing and vivid ethnographic description, drawing on rich data from the marital case studies conducted by research teams in each country, they trace how extramarital opportunity structures, sexual geographies, and concerns about social risk facilitate men's participation in extramarital sex. Also documented throughout is the collision between traditional ways and the new practices of romantic companionate marriage."

Courage and Hope gives voice to the real life experiences of 12 HIV-positive teachers, five of whom are women, from Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania (both Mainland and Zanzibar) and Zambia. The teachers recount their experiences of discovering their HIV-positive status and how this has affected them in their families, their communities, and their professional lives. Their stories are documented by journalists, emphasizing the human dimension. The voices of these teachers suggest that a number of obstacles are commonly faced by teachers living with HIV. Paramount among them are stigma and discrimination, both within their families and communities as well as their workplaces and in society more generally. The difficulties of overcoming stigma and discrimination are further exacerbated by a failure to ensure confidentiality in the workplace. The voices of these teachers also suggest that these obstacles could be usefully addressed by: * Fully implementing existing national and institutional policies. * Increasing involvement of teachers living with HIV in setting policies and giving practical advice. * Providing universal access to voluntary counselling and testing, care and support. * Addressing HIV issues during teacher training activities to reduce stigma among teachers and to equip teachers with the skills to avoid infection and teach young people about HIV, including avoiding infection and focusing on stigma and discrimination reduction. Each teacher presents a unique story demonstrating a wide range of challenges as well as insights and successes and, individually as well as collectively, displaying extraordinary courage and hope.

The five research reports that constitute this monograph are a fruit of the collaboration between the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in African (CODESRIA) and the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), two institutions with a longstanding interest in the study of youth and social transformations in Africa. Under the collaboration, 12 young African researchers were able to benefit from fellowships, workshops and the expertise of resource persons. The studies contribute significant empirical insights from five different countries (Tanzania, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Cameroon) to ongoing debates on how youth and social processes in Africa shape, and are shaped, by the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

"Represents a long-overdue examination of anthropology's role in the fight against AIDS, bringing together the anthropological perspective and the problem of AIDS like no other."--Brian Joseph Gilley, University of Vermont Until now, there has been no one text that discusses the norms, beliefs, and behaviors that affect how societies respond to HIV/AIDS around the world. The Anthropology of AIDS synthesizes data from anthropology, psychology, sociology, biology, and medicine, and incorporates the author's more than two decades of work as a medical anthropologist, HIV test counselor, and sex therapist. Designed for use in a range of college courses, this volume combines a solid introduction to the epidemiology of HIV and AIDS with a wealth of material exploring the cross-cultural societal impact of the disease. Patricia Whelehan provides a broad overview of the epidemic since 1981, focusing on current social, cultural, political, and economic factors throughout the world. She brings a relativistic, comparative, and holistic approach to look at HIV/AIDS as both a pandemic and an intercultural health problem. She also explores the ethics and controversies surrounding HIV testing, treatment, and research in the United States and other specific societies, including Thailand, Brazil, and areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. Written in a clear, concise, and engaging tone, this timely and necessary text will prove an invaluable resource for instructors and undergraduates across many academic disciplines.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, when HIV first entered the world's blood supply, more than half of the 17,000 hemophiliacs in the United States became infected with the AIDS-causing virus. In Blood on Their Hands, attorney Eric Weinberg and journalist Donna Shaw provide an insider's look at the epic legal battle fought over what has been called the worst medically induced epidemic in the history of modern medicine and one of the twentieth century's worst public health disasters. As one of the key members of the legal team involved with the class action suit filed by the infected, Eric Weinberg was faced with a daunting task: prove the negligence of a powerful, well-connected global industry with billions of dollars in sales at risk. Weinberg and fellow attorneys representing AIDS-stricken hemophiliacs also had to explain why governments and regulators from several nations had failed their clients. Blood on Their Hands underscores how heroic clients, even as they were nearing death, fought tirelessly for justice.

Substantial financial and human resources from donors, governments, civil society organisations and the private sector have been committed to fighting HIV/AIDS since it was first discovered in Africa. As more resources are allocated, there is a growing need for countries to properly account for these funds. HIV/AIDS Financing and Spending in Eastern and Southern Africa measures the financial response to the pandemic in five selected countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania (mainland), Malawi Zambia and Zanzibar). This publication emerges out of an extensive multi-country resource tracking project conducted by the AIDS Budget Unit of Idasas Governance and AIDS Programme (GAP).

'The really extraordinary thing about this book is that it tells the story of how one mother embarked on her feverish course of involvement in the AIDS community, in large part to help herself come to terms with the possibility of her son's death. But all that work really doesn't prepare her. She becomes incredibly intimate with a series of strangers, yet she and her son have more and more trouble talking about his illness, which is the reason she is doing all this in the first place. She becomes indispensable at the bedsides of countless other people, but when Gary is dying, she still feels helpless, disconnected and as if she'd never set foot in an AIDS hospital room. What is moving about this book is the fact that all this preparation doesn't prepare, because nothing can prepare her' - Susan Choi, Pulitzer Prize finalist, "American Woman".

The author is trained in biology, microbiology, medicine and epidemiology in the US. His book is predicated on two main points: the Aids pandemic is so pervasive in Africa that drastic measures are needed; and that those measures must primarily depend on prevention. He discusses such a comprehensive approach and treatment, and stresses that the primary need is political will. The first four chapters deal with the general principles of history and epidemiology; and then focus on the effect of the epidemic in Africa and how to deal with it. Whilst a wealth of technical information is given, the language is accessible for the lay reader.