Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Food and AIDS

On the linkages between Food and AIDS in Uganda.


"Women, in particular, confront what medical anthropologists call “structural violence,” the social, cultural and legal constraints that often rob them of control over their own and their children’s destinies.

“I used to tell my husband that we should use condoms, and he outright refused,” a mother of four says in a tone more resigned than bitter. “If I wouldn’t have live sex with him, he would refuse to bring home food and take care of the children.”" (Thanks D.)


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

the greater point of the article and the more trenchant 'link between food and AIDS in Uganda', I thought, was that foreign aid programs targeting HIV have failed sufficiently to take into account the fact that in a region with such tremendous food shortages, compounded by gender and other political barriers to food distribution, the success of HIV drug distribution may actually create more acute problems, as patients' appetites increase exponentially without any corresponding increase in available nutrition.

Somebody somewhere recently made a pertinent remark: ' This is another sad story of money being spent on "projects" that only end up supporting the implementing agency and the political programs of the donors. '