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Updated: Jun 15, 2026

Comprehensive & Cost Effective Laboratory Monitoring of HIV/AIDS: an African Role Model
Published on: October 31, 2010
A tale of two "cultures": HIV risk narratives in South Africa
Eirik Saethre1, Jonathan Stadler
1University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, USA. saethre@hawaii.edu
Abstract:
There has been a tendency for many researchers and health professionals examining HIV transmission in South Africa to focus on explanations that specifically implicate culture as a primary vector affecting the prevalence of high-risk sexual behavior, such as multiple partners, unprotected sex, and dry sex. In contrast, the residents of Orange Farm, a former informal settlement south of Soweto, portray culture as seldom, if ever, motivating actions that are associated with HIV transmission or prevention in the community. Comparing and contrasting these differing conceptions, we comment critically on the use of ideas regarding culture in explanations addressing the HIV/AIDS pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa.
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