HIV/AIDS Prevention: Reducing Social Stigma to Facilitate Prevention in the Developing World

Abstract

An approach to preventing new HIV infections is the expectation that people living with the virus will disclose their status to their partners, healthcare providers, and family members. While this expectation would most logically contribute to reductions in new HIV infections, it is widely known that disclosure of status often results in problems for the person infected with the virus. Too often, status disclosure is not treated as confidential information and people become stigmatized, ostracized from society, and discriminated against. This is particularly true in developing countries where much is not known about the disease, and where being infected with HIV is an automatic sentence for social isolation. If strides are to be made towards reducing HIV incidence and prevalence in the developing world, then attitudes towards persons living with the disease have to change, so as to encourage free reporting and the seeking of appropriate medical care and counseling. This paper highlights the continued global burden and trends of HIV/AIDS, discusses the role, barriers, and effects of social stigma on HIV/AIDS prevention efforts, and proposes strategies for the reduction of stigma and other negative attitudes that inhibit HIV/AIDS prevention efforts in developing countries.