Poverty, Denialism, Stigma and Discrimination: Challenges to Alleviating HIV/AIDS in Post-Apartheid South Africa

Abstract

South Africa is experiencing an HIV/AIDS epidemic whose prevalence remains the highest globally (UNAIDS, 2014). With an estimated 5.7 million HIV-positive persons in South Africa, it is pertinent to develop and sustain a multi-sector strategy for combating the HIV/AIDS epidemic which acknowledges poverty, denialism, stigma, and discrimination as social drivers, acting as deterrents towards treatment and awareness campaigns. These societal drivers are compounded by structural drivers which perpetuate vulnerability to HIV/AIDS. Intersectional stigma and discrimination act as barriers to effective treatment and prevention combination strategies which seek to decrease prevalence, especially amongst the most at risk populations (MARPs): Black women and youth, the LGBTQ community, intravenous drug users, the prison population, orphans, and sex workers (UNAIDS, 2011a; UNAIDS, 2014). These drivers not only perpetuate myths and misconceptions, but directly impact behaviour and decision-making capabilities. Black women and youth in urban and rural areas in South Africa represent one of the MARPs whose prevalence continues to increase, while other vulnerable groups prevalence has decreased or remains stagnant (UNAIDS, 2014). It is imperative to utilize the theory of intersectionality to better comprehend the relationship between poverty, denialism, stigma, and discrimination and its impact on the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa.