Kanayaka: "The light is on": Understanding HIV and AIDS related Stigma in Urban and Rural Zambia

Abstract

As the impact of the HIV and AIDS epidemic deepens in Sub-Saharan Africa and medical interventions to extend and improve the lives of people living with HIV and AIDS become more widely available the need to understand and counter HIV and AIDS related stigma and discrimination has grown more urgent. It is widely acknowledged that stigma is one of the greatest barriers to HIV care and prevention. USAID recognized that there was a dearth of data to inform the design of interventions to reduce stigma and discriminatory practices and in response supported a three-country research study to be conducted by the International Center for Research (ICRW) the CHANGE Project and local partners in Africa. The ZAMBART Project in partnership with Kara Counselling and Training Trust (KCTT) collaborated with ICRW to carry out the research in Zambia over a period of two years. Companion studies were conducted in Tanzania and Ethiopia. All the studies carried out community based research in urban and rural sites and used qualitative methods to investigate stigma associated with HIV and AIDS - its causes forms and consequences and the social economic and cultural factors that underlie it. The multi-country findings have been written up in the form of a synthesis report and the country findings in the form of individual country reports. This report should be read alongside the childrens report the synthesis report and other country reports. (excerpt)