HIV/AIDS shaping people’s livelihoods promotion processes: the case of a village highly affected by HIV/AIDS in Bukoba rural district, Tanzania

Abstract

Whereas HIV/AIDS has been largely explained and addressed based on the biomedical and African permissive sexuality thesis perspectives, they are not exhaustive. This paper argues that a meaningful life discourse complements the existing approaches to improve our understanding of the reality of HIV/AIDS. Both of the older discourses have resulted into different practices in the livelihoods promotion processes of the people. The paper tries to explain these practices and how have they influenced people’s livelihoods promotion processes. The study is conducted in a highly HIV/AIDS affected area, using the life stories, which are analysed through content analysis. The results indicate that there are different practices according to the different discourses. The article concludes by arguing that looking at the practices and their intentions, some people have been shaped to promote HIV/AIDS, others to suppress it, others to alleviate it, and others to collaborate the more in general community livelihoods promotion processes.