The problem with the widespread Aids menace in Kenya is the fact that almost everyone (90%) has heard of HIV and Aids, yet they do very little about it. Most communities in Kenya in general do not actualise, comprehend, admit or even accept the seriousness of the Aids menace. Yet studies in Kenya have shown that a Kenyan dies of Aids every three minutes. Most people in these communities see HIV/Aids as an integral part of their daily lives. They associate the scourge with the taboos within their communities.
In his preparation for the XIV International Aids Conference in Barcelona, Spain, next month, Dr. Wycliffe Humphrey Odiwuor, Director of Network of Community and Orphan Support Initiative (NECOSI) focuses on the misinterpretation of information disseminated in the fight against the HIV/Aids scourge.
He found that most of the information sent down to the communities’ falls short of the cultural interpretations. His paper which is based on an anthropological analysis of some communities in western and central Kenya, attempts to reconstruct most of the information, taking into considerations cultural phenomenons.
In most of his research which has been dealing with the youth, he has proved that what the pupils learn bout Aids in schools and the discussions they later on have with their parents at home conforms to a dialogue of understanding and gainful knowledge. These, he concludes, ultimately help reduce the spread of the Aids scourge. He recommends that for successful HIV/Aids awareness campaigns, it must be supported with a good understanding of the cultural background emphasising and harmonizing the difference between the home culture and school culture as well.