Culture and HIV/AIDS

HIV/AIDS: The Creative Challenge was an action-research project that aimed to improve the effectiveness of HIV/AIDS prevention and coping strategies through valuing local cultures and employing cultural approaches approach to education, information sharing and community dialogue and communications. The project has produced a series of briefings and papers which synthesise and draw on the knowledge, concerns and insight of project partners in four regions as well as on literature and policy developments relating to the role of culture in HIV/AIDS prevention and care.

What's Culture Got To Do with HIV/AIDS?

Findings Paper No. 7 Healthlink Worldwide

HIV/AIDS: The Creative Challenge in South Africa

In July 2007, a three day workshop was held in Johannesburg, South Africa. A key aim was to gather and share practice and knowledge. The 3 day workshop involved discussions with some 46 organisations and individuals. The organisations represented were eclectic with the performance arts particularly well represented. The differences in approach and understanding between performance artists, researchers and broadcast organisations were pronounced, yet there was also a great deal of unanimity around the central issue of the value of cultural approaches to transform people’s understanding and attitudes to HIV/AIDS.

HIV/AIDS: The Creative Challenge in Kenya

The first Kenya workshop was held in Nairobi in March 2006 and was attended by 25 people, representing nine organisations working on cultural approaches to HIV/AIDS prevention and care, and 11 policy, donor and media organisations.

The meeting brought together practitioners from Kenya and three from other African countries, who shared experiences for one-and-a-half days. Through these discussions, participants analysed the strengths of their approaches and the contributions they could make – in terms of both practice and understanding – to the national and global response to the pandemic. They also identified the key challenges they faced and hence the areas of work in which they could learn further from each other and from others working in related fields. Eleven participants from UN, international and national agencies joined them during the final afternoon offering their comments on the practitioners’ conclusions. The group agreed on ways of following up the meeting, and expressed the desire to establish a Kenyan network of cultural workers in the HIV/AIDS field.

HIV/AIDS: The Creative Challenge in the Caribbean

The Caribbean workshop was held in Kingston in July 2007. It was attended by twelve development practitioners from five non-governmental organisations (NGOs) utilising cultural approaches to HIV and AIDS prevention and care, and a further 20 representatives from regional policy, donor or government agencies and civil society organisations with a particular interest in HIV and AIDS work.

A report on the workshop can be downloaded here. (Adobe PDF 870KB)

HIV/AIDS: The Creative Challenge in Cambodia & Viet Nam

Hanoi Workshop March 2006

The first Cambodia/Vietnam workshop was held in Hanoi in March 2006. It was attended by nine development practitioners from five non-governmental organisations (NGOs) utilising cultural approaches to HIV and AIDS prevention and care, and 14 representatives from regional policy, donor or government agencies.

A meeting report is available here (adobe pdf document 830 KB)

An overview report exploring issues emerging in the light of evidence from the Hanoi workshop and Cambodia/Vietnam case studies is available here (Adobe pdf document 198 KB)

HIV/AIDS: The Creative Challenge produced 22 case studies of the work of project partners. These case studies illustrate a range of cultural approaches to HIV prevention and care from Cambodia, Vietnam, Kenya, South Africa, Jamaica and Trinidad.

Developed during 2006 & 2007 in collaboration with the partner organisations using questionnaires, visits and interviews, they are snapshots of the activities of these organisations.

ABC Ulwazi Radio

Body, Mind and Soul

South Africa, all nine provinces

ABC Ulwazi develops, scripts, produces and broadcasts 12-minute episodes of the Educational Entertainment radio soap opera series, Body, Mind and Soul in four major languages, English, Zulu, Sotho and Afrikaans. The target audience is young people aged 18 to 35, and older adults.

Click here to download
the report in PDF Format

Title of project

Laphumi’langa (Xhosa for ‘sunrise’)

Organisation

The Mothertongue Project

Country/region

South Africa, Khayelitsha – Western Cape

Project focus

The aim of the project was to raise awareness of the link between violence against women and HIV/AIDS, recognising that broader gender inequities play a role in the spread of HIV/AIDS. In particular the project aimed to:

Click here to download
the report in PDF Format

Title of project

‘Break the Silence’ awareness campaign

Organisation

Kwa Mashu Community Advancement Projects of Positive Arts (K-CAP)

Country/region

South Africa, Kwa Mashu Township, Durban

Project focus

The K-Cap project works in the township of Kwa Mashu to:

Click here to download
the report in PDF Format

Title of project

SoundTrack4Life

Organisation

Artscape ADE (SoundTrack4Life)

Country/region

South Africa, Western Cape

Project focus

Soundtrack4Life (ST4L) equips high school communities in the Western Cape, principally in the Cape Town area, with the skills to face the challenges of HIV/AIDS. It offers life skills training and performing arts at schools, enabling participants to explore personal choices in an interactive environment.

Click here to download
the report in PDF Format

Title of project

Memory Work in Families Affected by HIV/AIDS

Organisation

Sinomlando Research Centre for Oral History and Memory Work in Africa, University of KwaZulu-Natal

Country/region

South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal