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HIV and AIDS
Stigma and Discrimination

Fears about family rejection, loss of job, and public shunning impede the effectiveness of HIV and AIDS prevention and care efforts. Stigma and discrimination discourage those who are infected with and affected by HIV and AIDS from seeking needed services because seeking services may reveal their HIV status to their families, workplace colleagues, or community. Ideas about the lifestyles of people living with HIV and AIDS contribute to a sense that HIV and AIDS are problems that affect “others,” which may undermine individuals’ estimation of their own risk and reduce their motivation to take preventive measures.

The cumulative efforts of the Population Council's studies and activities on stigma and discrimination indicate that there are a number of practical approaches that can be undertaken to reduce the basis for these fears, including providing information, counseling, skills acquisition, and increasing the opportunities for contact with people living with HIV and AIDS. The Council, through the Horizons program, engages in numerous studies focused on different aspects of stigma and discrimination.

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This page updated
26 June 2009


   

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The Lancet’s 6 December issue features results from the Phase 3 trial of Carraguard®. (Trial results were announced previously by the Population Council in February 2008.) (more)

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Publications/Resources

"Social context, sexual risk perceptions and stigma: HIV vulnerability among male sex workers in Mombasa, Kenya" (2009) (abstract)

"Engaging men who have sex with men in operations research in Kenya" (2009) (abstract)

“The overlooked epidemic: Addressing HIV prevention and treatment among men who have sex with men in sub-Saharan Africa—Report of a consultation, Nairobi, Kenya, 14–15 May 2008” (2009) (PDF)

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