Paying the price of HIV in Africa: cash transfers and the depoliticisation of HIV risk

Johnston, Deborah

Abstract

Despite biomedical innovation, HIV incidence remains high in some African countries. HIV-related cash-transfer projects propose a solution. However, the author raises concerns about their success from a political economy perspective. Where structural change is invoked by these projects, it is too narrowly conceived. Some cash-transfer projects focus solely on ‘nudging’ choices about risky sex, without considering the wider set of factors that increase HIV incidence. Consequently, the promise of HIV-related cash transfers is dangerously exaggerated. Instead they obscure the underlying causes of high HIV prevalence, by focusing on individual behaviour and a limited, neoliberal-friendly menu of options.

Citation

Johnston, D. (2015). Paying the price of HIV in Africa: cash transfers and the depoliticisation of HIV risk. Review of African political economy, 42(14), 394-413. https://doi.org/10.1080/03056244.2015.1064815

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Aug 21, 2015
• Deposit Date: Sep 15, 2015
• Journal: Review of African Political Economy
• Print ISSN: 0305-6244
• Electronic ISSN: 1740-1720
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 42
• Issue: 14
• Pages: 394-413
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03056244.2015.1064815