237300 HIV/AIDS in the African Context (S) (WiSe 2013/2014)

The HIV/AIDS pandemic remains one of the most significant global public health problems nearly 30 years after the first cases were diagnosed. HIV/AIDS contributes significantly to the global burden of disease, to morbidity and mortality and consumes a significant proportion of the global health budget. Targeted under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to be achieved by the year 2015, considerable efforts have been undertaken in order to halt and reverse its spread as well as provide care and support to those infected and affected.
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) continues to be the epicenter of this unprecedented public health challenge. Despite accounting for only 10% of the world population, SSA is home to nearly 70% of the estimated 33.5 million people living with HIV globally. Among factors that can explain this disparity are relatively high levels of poverty, inadequate and under-resourced health care systems and cultural beliefs and norms that promote the spread of HIV. Other factors are high levels of unemployment (especially among the youth), gender norms that make women vulnerable to infection and lack of a social welfare system to support vulnerable members of society.

The language of instruction in this module will be English, which will help expand the language skills of the students and thereby improve their competitiveness in the international arena. The seminar will seek to achieve three main aims. First, it seeks to deepen students' understanding and appreciation of a different social, cultural and political contexts. Secondly, it hopes to expand students' horizons and expose them to a global perspective to health issues. Thirdly, it aims at providing the students with a relatively comprehensive and clear picture of the HIV/AIDS situation in Africa. The ultimate purpose is to stir students' interest on issues of health in the developing countries and thereby promote their active engagement on these issues through various activities and initiatives. Some of the topics to be covered are outlined in the proceeding table.

Office: T7-233 (by appointment); Email: gowino@uni-bielefeld.de