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AIDS in South Africa: Fighting Stigma, Superstitions and Cultural Misunderstandings

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Event Date

  • 2/26/2008   6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
    Please arrive early for registration

Location

  • World Affairs Council Auditorium

Address

  • 312 Sutter Street
    Second Floor
    San Francisco, California 94108
Speaker(s)
Jonny Steinberg, South African award-winning author and scholar

Jonny Steinberg was born and bred in South Africa. his previous two books, Midlands (2002) and The Number (2004) both won South Africa's premier nonfiction literary award, the Sunday Times Alan Paton Prize. Mr. Steinberg was educated at Wits University in Johannesburg, and at Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He has worked as a journalist at a national daily, written scripts for television drama, and has been a consultant to the South African government on criminal justice policy.

 

Event Details

At the heart of South Africa’s AIDS crisis lays not only a medical obstacle but a cultural one as well. Jonny Steinberg, author of Sizwe’s Test, traces the inner struggles and the mixed feelings of shame, pride, and stubborn hope associated with those infected by HIV. Offering a window onto the complex set of realities, Steinberg asks why would a successful man who lives within walking distance of treatment refuse to be tested for HIV? His exploration reveals the superstitions, stigmas, and rampant cultural misunderstandings—between Western medicine and African healing traditions—that hinder the efforts to combat the spread of AIDS. Steinberg will join the Council to explore the perspectives of those who are infected, those who are trying to help, and those who reject any help offered to them. 

This event is co-sponsored by the United Nations Association – East Bay Chapter.

To watch or listen to this program, please click here or visit our online archive for other recordings.