“Our Problems Are Bigger than AIDS”

During a Research Trip in 2001, I traveled extensively through Ugandan villages in the eastern Busoga and western Bushenyi regions with Alex Muganzi Muganga and Peter Mudiope, both young doctors recently graduated from the medical school affiliated with Mulago Hospital in Kampala (see Figure Interlude 2.1). Well trained in medical, psychological, pharmacological, and social issues regarding HIV/AIDS in Uganda, both participated in the clinical trial research at Mulago Hospital that led to the introduction of nevirapine, a one-time, inexpensive drug that greatly reduces the risk of MTCT (mother-to-child transmission) of the HIV virus during birth by HIV-positive women. ³⁴ This drug was made available at no cost to all Ugandan women during 2001, a result of foreign aid. ³⁵ Both doctors facilitated my research with drama and music groups when I traveled to remote villages, and we typically concluded our interviews and recording sessions with local villagers by engaging discussions on specific medical concerns regarding HIV/AIDS. More than remunerating the groups with whom we worked, these informational meetings were attempts to give something back to villagers who took time away from the fields to talk with us and perform for us.