Trends and Perceived Determinants of HIV/AIDS in Rural Areas: The Case of Thamaga and Surrounding Villages, Botswana

Abstract

This paper examines the trends and perceived determinants of HIV/AIDS in Thamaga and its surrounding villages of Gakgatla, Kumakwane, and Mankgodi. Data was collected mainly through interviewer-administered questionnaires which were applied to a sample of 145 respondents from the general public and 61 people living with AIDS in the villages. The results of the study showed that cohorts of ages 30 and above generally had higher infection rates. Females had a higher number living with HIV than men. Deaths of people living with AIDS were steadily increasing in the study area. The primary causes of the epidemic were poverty and relative wealth. Alcohol and drug abuse, multiple partners, lack of HIV testing and condom use, commercial sex work, ignorance, illiteracy, culture and religion, were perceived by respondents as the proximate driving factors of the epidemic.