ABSTRACT
The clustering of highly affected areas implies that social and geographical contiguity is an important factor in the spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) across boundaries. Attention to sociocultural aspects and structural factors moves discussion of the problems of transmission away from blaming people for failure to heed warnings. The personal, gendered and socio-economic impacts of HIV-related illness and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome will vary in different sociocultural and economic systems, between rural and urban areas, between social categories and age cohorts. The Masaka District study used six occupational categories for respondents; as most people had two or more occupations, professional occupations were given preference in allocating people to one category. The productivity and welfare of female-headed households may suffer, especially where male labor power is necessary in some stages of the agricultural cycle or where male migrants’ earnings provide vital support.
