Situating the HIV/AIDS epidemic in a historical context : a case study of orphans in Nguludi Mission Community, Malawi

Includes bibliography.This thesis is based on a series of interviews with key informants and a census of orphan households in Nguludi Mission Community, Southern Malawi, in 2000. The thesis argues that although HIV/AIDS is a relatively recent phenomenon, any contemporary understanding of the epidemic must be informed by an understanding of the past. The impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the "orphan problem" at the local level, is, therefore, situated within the broader socio-economic context of the history of the region