Not As Simple As ABC: Christian Fundamentalisms and HIV and AIDS Responses in Africa
HIV and AIDS remains a starkly gendered epidemic in the African region. Sub-Saharan Africans represent 68 percent of HIV+ people globally, with an average of 13 women infected for every 10 men. While men as a group have lower prevalence rates than women, local studies have also shown that amongst men, men who have sex with men (MSM) face greater vulnerability to HIV infection than heterosexual men. These gendered realities make it imperative to analyse and contest the influence of sexist and homophobic fundamentalist actors on policy and popular discourse across Africa. Drawing on interviews with African and international HIV and AIDS activists, women’s rights activists, and academic and policy research, this case study explores the agendas, strategies, and influence of Christian fundamentalist actors in HIV and AIDS responses in the African region.
It examines how Christian fundamentalist engagement in the HIV and AIDS sector has supported the moralistic patriarchal discourses around sexuality,