The Intersection of Human Capital, Gender and HIV/AIDS in the African Context

The HIV/AIDS pandemic is subject of numerous medical, health and socio-political publications which predominately focus on poverty related issues. Sexuality norms and traditional African gender roles remain tabooed. HIV/AIDS is spreading unhampered along the gender route, erasing Africa's most valuable resource - young women and young men. Rewarding this silence is the unaffordable loss of human capital which is needed by the sub-Saharan African region for sustainable development. The authors experienced in perennial scientific studies and community projects examine the consequences of the lethal combination of culture, patriarchy, gender norms and the spread of HIV/AIDS. This book challenges the dogma of cultural and gender norms in the HIV/AIDS context in order to advance public debate.