TRULY, as the Bible says, a man is not a prophet in his own land and, I must say, that goes for women too!
Much as I have raged and pleaded across the years for culture to be given its rightful focus in the battle against HIV/AIDS, it has been a voice that has been all but drowned out, lost in the hurricane of other opinion, consigned to the waste paper basket, or thrown out the window.
But, with some delight, I can tell you readers of The National that the vital role and consideration of culture has finally been recognised and been given its place in the sun; it’s been studied and embraced in the global spotlight of the 17th International AIDS Conference that’s just been held in Mexico City, a forum that has gripped the attention of some 24,000 people who gathered there, as well as the eyes and the ears of the world beyond.
It was agreed that “different languages means different concepts and understandings; disease, illness and death have very different explanations and meaning in different cultures; the concept of “prevention” has a full range of meanings; and hundreds of other examples and (that) we are all to some extent captured by our own culture - the norms; behaviours, expectations and beliefs that we ascribe to such key HIV/AIDS strategy concepts as fidelity, abstinence, safety, relationships, negotiation, authority, family, friendships, care, trust, etc will all be informed and shaped by each of our cultures -and the sub-cultures within those cultures.
Until now, it simply hasn’t been realised that to ensure the success of any HIV/AIDS communication strategy it must based on an in depth understanding of the target society’s traditional system of belief and their mind frame. Many traditional belief systems do not have the notion that accidents, diseases etc can be prevented. Instead, they’re put under the umbrella of witchcraft or sorcerer’ spells.
As I have managed to explain through others attending the Mexico conference ,the traditional beliefs in witchcraft and sorcery as exampled in PNG are accompanied by a traditional culture of promiscuity. These two traditional cultural features are reflected now not only in an increasing AIDS death rate but also in increasing numbers of elderly men and women being found brutally murdered because they were blamed for having caused these AIDS death. These “witches” and “sorcerers” are usually tortured until they ‘confess’ and are then brutally murdered.
Just about everyone in Papua New Guinea seems determined to blame a witch or a sorcerer for any misfortune that befalls them, or their family and friends.
This is in spite of the fact that 97 per cent of the population PNG citizens are devout Christians, who over many years have been subjected to all sorts of HIV/AIDS awareness-raising communications.
But where these strategies have failed is that they didn’t take into account that many of the traditional PNG cultures didn’t include the possibility of using protective measures to prevent the occurrence of accidents, disease or death. It’s like wanting to compete as a canoeist in the Olympics but not realising or accepting that you need a canoe!
Essentially, it is the importance of basing communication strategies on a sound understanding of the relevant aspects of the target population’s traditional culture that will determine the success or failure of the message.
Now that PEGS, my own non-government organisation is registered as a PNG NGO, I hope that together with our PNG members we shall have a chance to conduct the Action research that will provide a sound basis for the design of a communication strategy that will succeed in bringing about the behavioural chances necessary to stem the AIDS tide in PNG.
I’m no longer a voice crying in the wilderness. The world has nodded its head too and that must now be taken into account.