The project aims to explore the significance of local culture for the spread and prevention of HIV/AIDS in Tanzania. In general, the role of local culture has not been prominent in HIV discourse and prevention strategies in Tanzania. One of the reasons for this is the ambiguous historical role of local culture and local identities in Tanzania, often being perceived as "anti-development" and/or a potential threat to nation building processes since independence. In addition, both HIV research and intervention have been dominated by disciplines (primarily medicine and individual psychology) which in general put limited emphasis on cultural factors and context. When culture has been considered a factor in HIV research and intervention, this has often been in negative terms, where culture appears as a set of risk factors, or a barrier to the spread of "correct" knowledge on HIV/AIDS.
During the last few years some of these trends have changed as a result of several factors:
-limited impact of conventional interventions has led to calls for new approaches, including strategies rooted in local communities and local culture.
-the sensitivity of ethnicity has decreased in Tanzanian domestic politics.
-culture-sensitive strategies has been shown to be valuable as a complement to mainstream approaches.
The aims of the project:
-map the historical role of local culture in HIV/AIDS discourse and intervention in Tanzania in general, and in Mbulu/Hanang in particular
-to investigate avenues in which local culture in Mbulu/Hanang can be used as a resource in HIV/AIDS prevention
Methodology:
-reviews of existing studies of relevance for the topic
-reviews of documentary material
-fieldwork in Mbulu/Hanang.
Main collaborators:
-Yusufu Q. Lawi, Department of History, University of Dar es Salaam
-Joyce Nyoni, Department of Sociology, University of Dar es Salaam
-Astrid Blystad, Department of Public Health, University of Bergen
