The Impact of Cultural Practices on Fighting against or for the Propagation of AIDS Pandemic in Rwanda

Abstract

Ever since tests for AIDS Virus infection started more some thirty years ago, the number of infected people has kept rising³³ while training and information campaigns on the modes of transmission of the virus and on the protection methods increased. Tremendous efforts were deployed and appropriate financial means granted.

How come the outcomes remain small in spite of the important means used therein? This article analyses the situation of one African country, Rwanda, where the first cases of AIDS were known in 1983. Since then, the disease has been a real plague, given the number of people dying from it every day, even if the official discourse limits the number of infected people to only 3% of the population.

The country has made a lot of progress in this area due to conferences, publicity clips, availing condoms, antiretroviral, etc.,³⁴ but this is not enough. Investigations show that only 10% of the population use condoms for protection. Why the resistance? This article analyzes the alternative of cultural practices which are not always considered where the education of the people is concerned. Key words: AIDS/HIV, culture, propagation, fight