article

Infect one, infect all: Zulu youth response to AIDS epidemic in South Africa

Medical anthropology17 • Published In 1997 • Pages: 363-380

By: Leclerc-Madlala, Suzanne.

Abstract
The province of KwaZulu-Natal leads South Africa in HIV/AIDS infection, with over two-thirds of the currently estimated 1.8 million cases. Recent studies show that the spread of HIV is accelerating, especially among young people under the age of 25. For Zulu township youth, HIV infection has come to be accepted as a new and inevitable part of growing up. Ongoing political violence and high levels of crime characterize the townships, from which has emerged a youth culture where young people who suspect theyt may be infected with HIV will avoid a definite diagnosis while at the same time seek to spread the infection as widely as possible. This response to the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic is examined aginst the cultural ethos of UBUNTU and the strategies once used by youth to forge solidarity in their struggle against the former white regime. The social impact of this response, which may include increasing rape incidence, is discussed (p.363).
Subjects
Morbidity
Crime
Public health and sanitation
Preventive medicine
Theory of disease
Ethnosociology
Miscellaneous sex behavior
Adolescent activities
culture
Zulu
HRAF PubDate
2005
Region
Africa
Sub Region
Southern Africa
Document Type
article
Evaluation
Creator Types
Biological Anthropologist
Medical Anthropologist
Document Rating
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
John Beierle ; 2004
Field Date
no date
Coverage Date
1982-1995
Coverage Place
Townships around Durban, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa
Notes
Suzanne Leclerc-Madlala
Includes bibliographical references (p. 379-380)
LCCN
78643782
LCSH
Zulu (African people)