HIV/AIDS and the construction of Sub-Saharan Africa: heuristic lessons from the social sciences for policy

There is no doubt that Sub-Saharan African countries face major problems due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic that has ravaged the region. Yet the Eurocentric construction of the region as the source of the virus not only creates negative stereotypes in social science disciplines like geography, but also glosses over the potential of social science disciplines to provide knowledge and influence policy about HIV/AIDS. This oppositional construction of the region has unfortunately contributed to a glossing over of many aspects of Sub-Saharan Africa's people, their environment, culture, history, politics, economics, gender relations, and the region's global status that would provide important input for policy aimed at curbing the devastating spread of HIV in the region. This paper argues that once we recognize that HIV is a global virus with transcultural implications, social science disciplines, such as geography, can reveal certain attributes about the region and its HIV/AIDS pandemic that can be used in policy formulation to combat the spread of the virus. Keywords: Geography; HIV/AIDS; Eurocentric; Sub-Saharan Africa; Discourse; Health policy