HIV not the only driver of AIDS in Africa

It has been over 25 years since AIDS was first publically reported. This virus has over the years transformed societies, influenced policies, and has been at the core of governments’ interventions especially in sub-Saharan Africa. There have been endless attempts to find a cure to this disease, none of which have yet been successful.

The evolution of AIDS is society has changed from being an abomination or cause of hysteria to a showbiz event. In some cases, politicians have argued that HIV does not cause AIDS and they were rightly criticized for it. What they should have been praised for, is raising the question of whether HIV solely causes AIDS. What is important now is not that knowledge of what causes AIDS but rather how to prevent the transmission of the disease. HIV together with a series of complex social and political factors causes AIDS.

Take the society drivers of HIV for example. Beliefs abound that having sex with a young virgin could cure AIDS. Of course science and common sense tells us that is not true. But looking deeper reveals the heart of the problem. Virginity has always been associated with purity, and in some societies AIDS victims are somehow considered unclean. The stigma against those infected, together with the need for acceptance encourages coherence to traditional dogma. In these same societies, counsel and information are derived from elders, traditional healers, and possible witch doctors whose word is deemed gospel truth. In the absence of more credible information about HIV/AIDS, all listeners will believe what they are told. In such cases, societal perceptions, more than just HIV would have aided and abetted AIDS.

Attempts at finding a cure for AIDS should therfore be concentrated as much in the societal and political realms as in the laboratories.