Informal transit, socio-spatial exclusion, and changing geographies of HIV/AIDS in urban Malawi

Abstract

The role played by the transport sector in the regional spread of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa is well known, yet  attention has remained confined to entertainment hotspots and stopping places along long-distance highways and cross-border transport corridors. This paper draws attention to informal modes of transit prevalent in sub-Saharan African cities, by linking the rise of two-wheeled, manually operated bicycles, known as “Sacramento”, to the  potential spread of HIV and AIDS in Malawi. The findings of a qualitative study from Mzuzu city show that   Sacramento operators are prone to demanding or accepting sexual favours from female commuters as  payment for a ride. We draw on complementary theories of the political ecology of health (PEH) and feminist political ecology to show how a popular belief that Sacramento is an inferior mode of urban transit underpins risky sexual behaviour  among men hired to operate this informal mode  transport. The findings further show that operators’ responses to this perceived inferiority are themselves also driven by gender discourses that seek to validate their identities as  powerful go-getters. These scripts also create an environment that fosters multiple sexual partners and venerates
unprotected sex. Because Sacramento is both a source of livelihood and an HIV risk milieu, it epitomises the  contraction inherent in HIV and AIDS vulnerability in sub-Saharan Africa.

Keywords: HIV and AIDS, Malawi, Sacramento, sub-Saharan Africa, urban commute