There are many different ways of contracting HIV/AIDS.
There are just as many different ways of preventing HIV/AIDS.
There are many different groups of people exposed to HIV/AIDS.
There are many different ways of discriminating against people living with HIV/AIDS.
The WHYs, HOWs and WHOs change from CULTURE to CULTURE.

That is why we need :
A CULTURALLY-APPROPRIATE RESPONSE TO HIV/AIDS PREVENTION AND CARE.

In terms of HIV/AIDS prevention and care, adopting a cultural approach means that any given population´s cultural references and resources (ways of life, value systems, traditions, beliefs, religions and fundamental human rights) will be considered as key references when designing, implementing and monitoring prevention and care strategies, programmes and projects.

This is an essential component in achieving in-depth and sustainable changes in people´s behaviour, and to give full coherence to preventive education, medical treatment, care and support of infected and affected people.

This is why the joint UNESCO/UNAIDS research project A Cultural Approach to HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care was launched in May 1998, with the aim of stimulating reflection and action for better application of "a cultural approach" in strategies, policies, projects and fieldwork. This strategy engages populations in the fight against HIV/AIDS on the basis of their own cultural references and resources.

News

Round table "Women Migrants and HIV/AIDS in the World: An Anthropological Approach" - (UNESCO, Paris) 20-11-2004 5:00 pm Organized on the occasion of World AIDS Day 2004 in the framework of the joint UNESCO/UNAIDS project "A Cultural Approach to HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care", in cooperation with the International Organization of Migration (IOM) and CRIPS Ile-de-France. More

HIP HOP and HIV/AIDS - () 14-11-2003 1:00 pm On the 12-14 November 2004, a Hip Hop World Summit will be held at UNESCO Headquarters. A Round Table and a Workshop on the use of Hip Hop in HIV/AIDS prevention and sensitisation will be organized in the framework of the joint UNESCO/UNAIDS project “A Cultural Approach to HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care”. More

New Publications! - () 25-07-2003 4:00 pm New documents are available on the website of Culture and AIDS (to be downloaded in pdf). The proceedings of the Round Table on HIV/AIDS, stigma and discrimination : an anthropological approach in English. The Proceedings of the National Consultation, New Delhi, India. The 4 Methodological Handbooks translated into Vietnamese More

Coming soon! - () 20-07-2003 3:00 pm More

Projects

	A Cultural Approach to HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care - History of the project
	Since the mid-1980s, the fight against HIV/AIDS has gradually mobilized governments, international agencies and non-governmental organizations. However, it became evident that despite massive action to inform the public about the risks, behavioural changes were not occurring as expected. >> More

	Breaking the Silence - HIV/AIDS Education in Pakistan
	Pakistan is a traditional Islamic society where it has not been possible to include information about HIV/AIDS, adolescence, or reproductive health in school text books. >> More

	Breaking Youth Silence: Building Sustainable care and Solidarity in our Community
	The MERCOSUR Cluster Office in Montevideo has an unique opportunity for promoting programme-based approaches to education in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. Throughout their work on the Education For All (EFA) priority, they frequently observed the thematic integration of illiteracy, gender, single teenage motherhood and HIV/AIDS. >> More

	Capacity Building of Teacher Educators in the Kingdom of Lesotho
	Falling within the framework of the joint UNESCO/UNAIDS project "A Cultural Approach to HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care", this project aims to improve teacher education in Lesotho by developing in-service training programmes for teacher-trainers at the Lesotho College of Education. >> More

EMPOWERMENT OF YOUTH LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS

Cambodia is the country most affected by HIV/AIDS in the Asia-Pacific region, with 2.8% of the adult population HIV-infected, mainly through unprotected (heterosexual) sexual intercourse. Prevention of mother-to-child transmission has become a major concern in the fight against AIDS. Although some analysts believe HIV/AIDS has been declining since 2001, the epidemic can still pose a major threat to Cambodia's development: talking about sex is still taboo, and many people continue to have high-risk sexual encounters. >> More

	Engaging Caribbean Youth in the Fight Against HIV/AIDS
	The UNESCO Cluster Office to the Caribbean will involve young people in the development of culturally sensitive materials and messages for young people. >> More

	Indian Pilot Project
	India is characterised by a rich cultural diversity at the level of the Union as well as in its various regions, states, large cities and linguistic, spiritual and religious communities. >> More

Life Forces and Life Choices: ‡Khomani San Action Research on HIV/AIDS 2003

Life Forces and Life Choices is based on a six-month action research project, conducted by the South African San Institute and commissioned by UNESCO within the framework of the joint UNESCO/UNAIDS ‘A Cultural Approach to HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care’ project. It details the experiences and findings of a team of ‡Khomani San health educators facing health care and survival challenges in the southern Kalahari. >> More

	Prevention of HIV/AIDS among ethnic minorities of the Upper Mekong region through community-based non-formal and formal education
	The UNESCO Regional Unit for Social and Human Sciences in Asia and the Pacific (RUSHSAP) has been coordinating an intersectoral project aimed at the prevention of HIV/AIDS among ethnic minorities of the upper Mekong Region. This project was implemented in selected communities in southern China, northern Laos and northern Thailand where infection risks are very high. >> More

	Research-action project in Kampala
	This project aims, through a concrete case study, at testing the applicability of the cultural approach. >> More

	Strengthening Linkages Between Conventional Service Providers and Traditional and Religious Institutions in HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care
	Mozambique is one of the world's top ten countries with the highest HIV prevalence rates. Lack of access to adequate information, misconceptions, beliefs and practices shaped by socio-cultural context strongly influence patterns of sexual behaviour, as well as the perception of the disease and its treatment. >> More

	Theater and HIV/AIDS
	Very popular among youth, theatre is often used as a tool of Information, Education and Communication on HIV/AIDS. >> More

Using Traditional cultural Resources of Jingpo Ethnic Minority for the Prevention of Drug Abuse, HIV/AIDS and Trafficking of Women

Following a call for project proposals to be carried out in a cultural approach, the project aims to identify traditional, cultural resources of the Jingpo Ethnic Minority Population in Yunnan Province, along with strategies and methods to restore, strengthen and mobilize such cultural resources to support positive community change, including prevention of HIV/AIDS, drug use and trafficking of women. >> More

Conferences

Sub-regional Training Workshops (Uganda, Egypt, Morocco, Senegal, Kazakhstan, and India) 2000-2002 On the basis of the research, six sub-regional training workshops were organized in order to sensitize local resources to the importance of taking into account the cultural references in the fight against HIV/AIDS. More

Sub-regional discussion workshops (Cuba, Thailand, Zimbabwe) 1999 In 1999, the country specific studies were discussed in three Sub-regional workshops: More

International Nairobi Conference Nairobi 02-10-2000 / 04-10-2000 The International Nairobi Conference on "A Cultural Approach to HIV/AIDS " had a threefold objective: More

Articles

Culture, agriculture and rural development: a view from FAO's Population Programme Service - by Marcela Villarreal, Senior Officer (Socio-cultural research) 0June 2000 -The AIDS pandemic is not only a health problem. Among development agencies the pandemic is increasingly regarded as an important, crosscutting developmental issue that requires a multisectoral and multidisciplinary perspective to understand it and to intervene effectively. Cultural beliefs, practices and attitudes are determinants of the sexual behaviour that affect the nature and rate of HIV transmission.More

Kenyan widows fight wife inheritance - by Alice Muthengi 18 November, 2003 -A group of 29 Kenyan women - all of the HIV positive - have formed a club to fight the culture of wife inheritance, which they blame for the spread of HIV/AIDS in the area.More

Culturally Sensitive AIDS Educational Videos - by Herek, G.M., Gillis, J. R., Glunt, E. K., Lewis, J., Welton, D., & Capitanio, J. P. 1998 -The importance of using culturally sensitive educational materials in HIV-related interventions with ethnic minority groups is widely acknowledged.More

AIDS in Africa : special issue of Sciences au Sud - by 1999 -The periodical of the French Institute of Research on Development, IRD, which focus on the main research programmes, published a special issue on HIV/AIDS in Africa.More

UNESCO's Cultural Approach to HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care - by UNESCO Division of Cultural Policies and Intercultural Dialogue April 2004 -The following article on the joint UNESCO/UNAIDS project 'A Cultural Approach to HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care' was written for the readers of the International Youth Hosteling Federation on-line newsletter(Issue No. 12, April 2004).More

Indigenous Knowledge and Health : Ghana and Zambia - by Maja Naur, Ph.D. in sociology, consultant to the World Bank. March 2001 -Given the culturally defined central role of traditional healers in their communities, they provide one of the best hopes for stemming the spread of AIDS.More

A cultural approach to AIDS in Africa - by Jabulani Sithole March 31, 2000 -As the HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to cause havoc within southern Africa, voices are growing for a serious consideration of a cultural approach to the prevention of and awareness about HIV infection.More

Zambia : HIV/AIDS Changing the Way People are Buried - by Zarina Geloo May 11, 2002 -AIDS has changed the way people live. Now it is changing the way they are buried.More

Traditional Medicine and AIDS - by Gerard Bodeker, Donna Kabatesi, Rachel King, Jacques Homsy Novembre 2000 -A regional task force on traditional medicine and AIDS in east and southern Africa will be (sic) inaugurated in Kampala, Uganda, in April 10,2000. The task force will coordinate activity related to the widespread use of traditional medicine by people with HIV/AIDS in Africa and the role of traditional medicine in HIV/AIDS prevention.More

HIV/AIDS: Traditional Healers, Community Self-assessment, and Empowerment - by Maja Naur, Ph.D. in sociology, and consultant to the World Bank. October 2001 -How traditional healers and indigenous knowledge can empower communities to deal with the social consequences of the pandemic, and to ensure that government resources are actually being used to their benefit.More

Events

Round Table on "HIV/AIDS, Stigma and Discrimination : a cultural approach". (UNESCO Paris; 29-11-2002 5:00 pm - 29-11-2003 7:00 pm ) The stigmatization and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS prevent a great many of the 42 million people living with HIV/AIDS around the world from seeking treatment for, and information about, the disease. Many are even afraid to take an HIV test because of the shame associated with the epidemic. More

Round table on the role of religious leaders and faith-based organizations in the fight against HIV/AIDS (Abuja, Nigeria; 16-12-2003 6:00 pm - 16-12-2003 6:00 pm ) An UNESCO roundtable on the role of religious leaders and communities in the fight against HIV/AIDS will take place on the 16th of December 2003 in Abuja, Nigeria within the International Congress on Dialogue of Civilizations, Religions and Cultures in West Africa (15-17 December 2003) More

International Women's Day at UNESCO: Women, culture and HIV/AIDS (UNESCO Paris; 08-03-2004 3:00 pm - 08-03-2004 8:30 pm ) Message by Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, for International Women’s Day, 8 March 2004. Events organized at UNESCO in the framework of International Women's Day. More

Workshop “HIV/AIDS: Information, Education and Communication culturally adapted for Behaviour Change” - Antigua, Guatemala, 11-13 May 2004. (Antigua, Guatemala; 11-05-2004 9:00 am - 13-05-2004 6:00 pm ) Sub-regional workshop organized by the Division of Cultural Policies and Intercultural Dialogue and the UNESCO Offices in Mexico and Guatemala, in collaboration with the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECI). More

Culturally appropriate IEC for HIV/AIDS Prevention in the three Caucasus Countries (; 05-07-2004 4:00 pm - 08-07-2004 4:00 pm ) Sub-regional workshop organized at Tbilisi, Georgia from 5-8 July 2004. More

Combating Stigma and Discrimination : The Role of Religious Leaders in Building Inclusive Communities (Room K; 12-07-2004 8:15 pm - 12-07-2004 10:15 pm ) Satellite Session – Monday 12 July 2004, 20.15-22.15 In partnership with UNESCO and the Government of Norway More

HIP HOP and HIV/AIDS (UNESCO Headquarters; 14-11-2004 1:00 pm - 14-11-2004 4:00 pm ) On the 12-14 November 2004, a Hip Hop World Summit will be held at UNESCO Headquarters. A Round Table and a Workshop on the use of Hip Hop in HIV/AIDS prevention and sensitisation will be organized in the framework of the joint UNESCO/UNAIDS project “A Cultural Approach to HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care”. More

Round table "Women Migrants and HIV/AIDS in the World: An Anthropological Approach" (UNESCO Headquarters, Room II; 20-11-2004 4:00 pm - 20-11-2004 6:00 pm ) Organized on the occasion of World AIDS Day 2004 in the framework of the joint UNESCO/UNAIDS project "A Cultural Approach to HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care", in cooperation with the International Organization of Migration (IOM) and CRIPS Ile-de-France. More