Culture and Difference: From Medical Mission to HIV Prevention

This chapter chronicles the history of medical regimes in Bushbuckridge, from the era of twentieth century missionary medicine, to the ensuing Bantustan administered health services from the 1970s, and the more recent HIV prevention programs of the late 1990s and the early 2000s. I argue that while there have been significant transformations in health services, medical and public health discourses of racial and cultural difference persist in medical dialogues and practices, despite global efforts to create a unified front in HIV prevention. The chapter draws extensively on secondary published material, as well as my personal and professional involvement in HIV awareness and educational campaigns.