Marseille 2007
| Abstract #582 - HIV/AIDS, the miraculous cures and the ART in Ethiopia | ||||
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Session: 28.6: Religion and traditional practices (Parallel) on Tuesday @ 11.00-12.30 in 5 Chaired by Veronica Noseda, Herve Richaud Authors: Presenting Author: Mrs HERMANN Judith - IRD, France |
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| Additional Authors: | ||||
| Aim: In Ethiopia, in the middle of the 1990, while the Ethiopian government was denying the spread of HIV/AIDS, many people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHIV/AIDS) started to resort to the holy water in the hope of curing of AIDS miraculously and to escape stigmatization. Despite the free distribution of ART started in the beginning of 2006, and the campaign of the EOC hierarchy against the stigmatization of PLWHIV/AIDS, most of them continue to use holy water, refusing the medical treatment. In this contribution I will attempt to answer two questions. (1) Why PLWIHV/AIDS use nearly exclusively holy water? (2) What representations and conceptions of HIV/AIDS are spreading by the EOC hierarchy and the priests working on holy water locations? | ||||
| Method / Issue: To attempt to answer those questions ethnographical surveys have been conducted in Ethiopia on some holy water location, VCT (Voluntary and Counseling Test). Also, some religious documents about the fight against HIV/AIDS have been collected and analyzed. | ||||
| Results / Comments: Around 100 persons have been interviewed: priest of the EOC working on holy water location, hierarchic cleric, PLWHIV/AIDS, members of VTC Center, some people living in Addis Ababa. Some participative and non participative observations have been done in 6 holy water locations. From those data, a twofold discourse occurs about the compatibility between the ART and the use of Holy Water. Most of people living on those holy water locations (priest and PLHIV) with population in general believe they are incompatible. The hierarchic cleric has a double position; officially they try to convince people the treatments are compatible but in the same time their positions about HIV/AIDS remains ambivalent. | ||||
| Discussion: It seems that EOC hierarchy twofold discourse favours representation of HIV/AIDS which contribute to stigmatize PLWHIV/AIDS. | ||||
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