Gender and HIV/AIDS: Critical Perspectives from the Developing World (Routledge Global Health Series)

Gender issues are central to the causes and impact of the ongoing AIDS epidemic. The editors bring together cutting edge contemporary scholarship on gender and AIDS in one volume. They address questions related to gender and sexuality, how women and men live the epidemic differently and how such differences lead to different outcomes. The volume joins research on Africa, Asia and Latin America and illustrates how the epidemic has different gendered characteristics, causes and consequences in different regions. Collectively, the chapters demonstrate the fundamental ways that gender influences the spread of the disease, its impact and the success of prevention efforts. This scholarly, interdisciplinary volume provides a comprehensive introduction to the themes and issues of gender, AIDS and global public health and informs students, policy makers and practitioners of the complexity of the gendered nature of AIDS. Through an in-depth examination of the interactions between the South African government and the international AIDS control regime, Jeremy Youde examines not only the emergence of an epistemic community but also the development of a counter-epistemic community offering fundamentally different understandings of AIDS and radically different policy prescriptions. In addition, individuals have become influential in the crafting of the South African government's AIDS policies, despite universal condemnation from the international scientific community. This study highlights the relevance and importance of Africa to international affairs. The actions of African states call into question many of our basic assumptions and challenge us to refine our analytical framework. It is ideally suited to scholars interested in African studies, international organizations, global governance and infectious diseases. "Through an in-depth examination of the interactions between the South African government and the international AIDS control regime, Youde examines not only the emergence of an epistemic community but also the development of a counter-epistemic community offering fundamentally different understandings of AIDS and radically different policy prescriptions. In addition, individuals have become influential in the crafting of the South African government's AIDS policies, despite universal condemnation from the international scientific community." "This study highlights the relevance and importance of Africa to international affairs. The actions of African states call into question many of our basic assumptions and challenge us to refine our analytical framework. Ideally suited to scholars interested in African studies, international organizations, global governance and infectious diseases."--Jacket Through an in-depth examination of the interactions between the South African government and the international AIDS control regime, Jeremy Youde examines both the epistemic and counter-epistemic communities to highlight the relevance and importance of Africa to international affairs. The study is ideally suited to scholars interested in African studies, international organizations, global governance and infectious diseases Gender issues are central to the causes and impact of the ongoing AIDS epidemic. The editors bring together cutting edge contemporary scholarship on gender and AIDS in one volume. They address questions related to gender and sexuality, to how women and men live the epidemic differently and how such differences lead to different outcomes Introduction Knowledge and international policymaking Counter-epistemic communities History and public health in South Africa Identity, AIDS, and public health in South Africa South Africa AIDS policies and the counter-epistemic community Conclusions and implications.