Biomedical Science’s Embodiments in Contemporary Laos. Informal Caregivers and Children Living with HIV

Abstract

Who provides informal care? What help informal caregivers do provide it and at what costs? This contribution examines the Biomedical Science’s Embodiments in Contemporary Laos in looking at the materiality of its technologies in the everyday and the ordinary. We aim to tackle this issue in approaching the daily lives of children living with HIV from the point of view of the people who are taking care of them, the so-called informal caregivers. The paper highlights the constraints created by caregiving responsibilities, and the emerging issues related to HIV disclosure, stigma and discrimination and conflicting feelings. The informal caregivers’ narratives underline how families, institutions and local, national and transnational institutions are assigning care work. Informal care offers a lens to explore the social and gender health inequalities, both interrelated with, and too often disregard by the biomedical science.