The mistranslation of the ABCs: An American AIDS education campaign in Botswana

Abstract: The majority of Botswana citizens have access to national HIV/AIDS education, but the messages ignore native cultural practices. The purpose of this paper is to critique the influence of American humanism and individualism on the ABC model of HIV/AIDS prevention used to stem the AIDS epidemic in Botswana. In 2005, the Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS) estimated that 36.3 million adults and children in the world are living with HIV. Adults 15 to 49 living in Sub-Saharan Africa make up 67 % of the world’s HIV positive population. In one Sub-Saharan country, Botswana, 270,000 adults are estimated to be living with HIV (UNAIDS, 2006). The Botswana AIDS Impact Survey conducted by the National AIDS Coordinating Agency, Botswana government agency, found that 92 % of men and 94 % of women in urban areas knew that AIDS can be avoided. Even in rural areas, 84 % of men and 85 % of women had knowledge of how to avoid AIDS (Mogomotsi, 2004). These surveys indicate that the majority of Batswana, or Botswana citizens, have access to national HIV/AIDS education. Unfortunately, national education messages have ignored native health and sex education as well as norms o