Forum: challenges in STD/AIDS prevention in Portuguese-speaking African countries: contributions from social research and from a gender approach: Introduction

Simone Monteiro

doi:10.1590/s0102-311x2009000300022

Abstract

This forum on the challenges of preventing STD/AIDS in Portuguese-speaking African countries contains three articles and a postscript. The first paper reviews academic production on the topic from the fields of the social sciences and of health, with special attention on how local cultural and socioeconomic factors impact the dynamics of the epidemic. Based on an ethnographic study of a region in southern Mozambique, the second paper analyzes the notion of 'tradition' within the context of Mozambique and how it affects perceptions of the local population's vulnerability to STD/AIDS. The third and final article discusses common ground and differences between government and civil society in gender approaches by community HIV/AIDS projects in Mozambique. Their observations suggest that important mistakes have been made in STD/AIDS prevention discourse and initiatives in African countries because the unique features of local development models and cultural systems have not been taken into account.

Highlights

Despite efforts and advances in the political, social, and biomedical spheres, the HIV/AIDS epidemic remains a critical public health problem, especially in contexts where socioeconomic inequality and social marginalization are prevalent
Of special interest here are the data recently released by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/ AIDS (UNAIDS)
According to the UNAIDS report, the HIV-positive population worldwide has held steady in percentage terms since 2000, while the overall number of those living with HIV has grown, owing both to new infections and to the benefits of antiretroviral treatment

Summary

Introduction

Despite efforts and advances in the political, social, and biomedical spheres, the HIV/AIDS epidemic remains a critical public health problem, especially in contexts where socioeconomic inequality and social marginalization are prevalent. Social exclusion factors that underlie greater vulnerability to STD/AIDS in the global context.

Results

Conclusion