Living with ART: Medicine for life in Uganda

Professor Susan Reynolds Whyte from the Institute of Anthropology, University of Copenhagen, has carried out extensive fieldwork in Tanzania, Kenya and especially Uganda where she collaborates with Makerere University. Her research falls mainly in the areas of family, generation and gender, misfortune, health, disability, medicine, and international development.

Discussant: Dr Ria Reis (University of Amsterdam)

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) for people living with HIV/AIDS has expanded radically in Uganda. Since 2000, prices of antiretrovirals have fallen, free drugs have become available, and a multitude of programmes have emerged that offer treatment and support. This presentation reports on a study undertaken by a team of Ugandan and Danish researchers who followed various people and families benefiting from this 'medicine for life', examining the experience of a pioneer generation who have become clients of the many different treatment programmes and learned to live with ART. The research highlights the social dimensions of ART and what it means for relations with partners, family and healthcare providers.