Notes on the socio-economic and cultural factors influencing the transmission of HIV in Botswana

Botswana currently has one of the highest recorded incidences of HIV infection in Africa although AIDS was only first publicly recognized in 1985. By this time other countries in the region such as Malawi, Zambia and Uganda were already showing signs of epidemic levels of HIV. The rapid transmission...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social science & medicine (1982) 1996-05, Vol.42 (9), p.1325-1333
Main Author: Macdonald, David S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
AIDS
AIDS Botswana culture socio-economic development
AIDS/HIV
Biological and medical sciences
Botswana
Botswana - epidemiology
Cultural Characteristics
Culture
Emigration and Immigration
Epidemiology
Female
Fertility
Health conditions
HIV
HIV Infections - epidemiology
HIV Infections - transmission
HIV Seroprevalence
Human immunodeficiency virus
Humans
Immunodeficiencies
Immunodeficiencies. Immunoglobulinopathies
Immunopathology
Male
Medical sciences
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Complications, Infectious - epidemiology
Sexual Behavior - ethnology
Sexually Transmitted Diseases - epidemiology
Social research
Social Values - ethnology
Socio-economic development
Sociocultural Factors
Socioeconomic Factors
Tropical medicine
Women's health
Women's status
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Summary:Botswana currently has one of the highest recorded incidences of HIV infection in Africa although AIDS was only first publicly recognized in 1985. By this time other countries in the region such as Malawi, Zambia and Uganda were already showing signs of epidemic levels of HIV. The rapid transmission of HIV in Botswana has been due to three main factors; the position of women in society, particularly their lack of power in negotiating sexual relationships: cultural attitudes to fertility; and social migration patterns. These three factors along with other, arguably more minor, ones have been shaped and mediated within the specific context of Botswana's rapid socio-economic development and cultural milieu. This has resulted in a constellation of factors unique to Botswana which accounts for the current high seroprevalence rate in the country.
ISSN:0277-9536
1873-5347
DOI:10.1016/0277-9536(95)00223-5