Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 39.2
Estimated number of adults with HIV/AIDS by region and characteristics, December 1997 (UNAIDS data).
Source:
World Bank 1997: Fig 1.1, p. 14.
Note:
MSM=men who have sex with men; IVDU=intravenous drug user; Hetero=heterosexual.
measures take into account only 'economic'
transactions and specifically exclude what may be
described as 'socially reproductive' activities such
as household management, childcare and even
subsistence agriculture—what are often but not
exclusively women's tasks. Thus there is a
likelihood that the true impact of the epidemic
is being underestimated as a result of a
fundamental and classical measurement error.
The social sciences have an important part to
play here. Medical epidemiology shows us the
broad interaction between disease organisms and
human populations, and it enables the epidemic
processes to be tracked with a view to prevention
of infection. The social sciences, including
geography, can build on this knowledge and
analysis to indicate the particular and specific
nature of those epidemic processes. Such research
can tease out the specific social, cultural,
locational and economic characteristics of
populations that expose them to increased risk
of infection—that is the
particular
nature of their
risk. It can also provide a second level of analysis,
which further explores the
specific
and unique
group characteristics that place a population sub-
group at risk or that identifies it as having special
needs. Two simple illustrations will make the
point clear.
